Far Between and Not at All
by scarletstarlet49
Summary: It was madness, all of it. She was lost in a violent sea of judgement and 'goodness', whatever that was, and her only raft was a self-righteous chimpanzee king. How did it all get so screwed up? Caesar/human OC. Rated M to be safe. Set ten months after Dawn of the POTA.
1. Chapter 1

**AN:**

 **Hi lovelies, you're here so I'm assuming you've watched the POTA remakes...if you're here and you haven't - JAYSUS get off this website and go do so immediately. This fic takes place ten months after Dawn of the POTA and won't feature any of the new characters from War (not indefinitely, but highly unlikely).**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own any of the plots or characters from the Planet of the Apes franchise, only my OCs. I'm posting this fanfic for fun and gaining nothing from it besides enjoyment!**

 **"A vague disclaimer is nobody's friend" - Willow Rosenberg.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Over the past ten years it had become increasingly difficult to pinpoint just what it was that made a human being. The philosophers will tell you that it is their curious nature defining humanity, the politicians will have you know that it's their strong opinions on morality. But if another species begins to demonstrate these traits, that which allegedly sets humanity apart, what judgement do we make of them? It would be easy to explain in scientific terms what it is to be human, but what of the mind and soul? If, of course, you don't believe consciousness to be an evolutionary accident…

Caesar once believed he had the answer to these questions. He believed that the defining feature that set both human and ape apart was loyalty. Humans constantly destroyed each other but apes were family, and then his comrade and brother in sentiment tried on his life. Next, he had considered the trait to be mercy, and then he himself had shown none not ten months ago. The first kill to test the boundaries of his morality had been Koba. The second had been the band of humans who murdered his wife, they'd begged for their lives and he snapped their necks. Caesar knew now that there were not only bad humans, but bad apes too, and he was one of them.

So, the next time humans would attack their way into his kingdom, he'd drive his spear through their backs.

* * *

"Jesus Christ are you trying to get us all killed?!"

Somewhere among the trees and, unbeknownst to them, not two miles from Caesar's colony, a soldier held his comrade at gunpoint. A small female stood between them, her hands pressed bravely against the perpetrator's shoulder.

"Blake put the gun down, please" whispered the female "we've already made too much noise. Please."

"That's right, let Ari pussy whip you some more instead of standing up for-"

BANG.

* * *

 _Aria's POV_

It had been 72 hours since they'd left the wall and already one of their group was dead. The gun shot pounded her ear drums and Aria squeezed her eyes shut, not in shock, but exasperation. She wondered at which point a human murdering another human stopped coming as a surprise to her. Three days ago, they'd been called to the main building to be dispatched on what would be their first mission. The team had consisted of Aria, Blake, Elliott and Pleoh. All highly trained, all under the age of 21. Aria's parents hadn't had the resources to send her into politics and government. The human race might be in tatters, but they were still at the mercy of money and dictatorship. If you were a surviving family with even less money, your child would be trained as a soldier and deemed expendable. Most of the young adults of the surviving colony were soldiers. Aria and Elliott were part of the medical research core which, until three days ago, meant that they'd never ventured into the Redwood. Which is why Blake and Pleoh, the oldest members of the group and both highly trained soldiers, were sent with them.

Blake had volunteered to go with her, much to Aria's surprise. He'd been cold towards her and well, everybody, for months. He was an entirely different person when they'd started dating, kind, never acting without contrition. But war changed everybody. She wondered whether he'd contracted one of the few diseases now plaguing humanity, she sort of hoped really. She wanted an excuse for his violence and hostility. Pleoh might have been hot headed and arrogant, but he probably didn't deserve to be shot in the face.

"What the hell man?!" Elliott yelled from his position on the ground, shock forming a cold sweat on his face. Clearly, he hadn't spent a lot of time with Blake recently. "he's fucking dead!"

"And you too might be so lucky. "Blake spat, crouching down to loot Pleoh's corpse of spare bullets "better this way than the disease all that sniffing around in bushes is gon' get you"

"Shut up both of you! We're God knows how many miles into the Redwood because of **your** poor mapping and now we've just alerted every living creature here to our whereabouts."

Aria would spend time being sickened by Blake's viciousness later, right now they needed to get as far away from their current location as possible. She picked up her research equipment, quickly snipping and bagging one of the wild flowers and dragged Elliott up and out of his alarm state. A colony of birds flew past them and she knew instantly that something was coming.

"We **need** to go!"

The remaining three began running through the dense forest, Aria at the lead. Whilst she stood just over five foot and small framed, she may not have been the strongest but most certainly the fastest. That was until, her foot caught on a fallen branch. She went down with hard thud, unprepared and gasping for breath.

 _Fuck._

She could hear rumbling now, panic engulfed her and she looked up desperately at the soldier who'd ran past her crumpled body, Blake, her boyfriend. She wasn't surprised when it was Elliott who ran to her side, Blake hadn't been a **boyfriend** in months. Her comrade yanked her to her feet but it was too late. They were already surrounded, even Blake at the far end of the clearing. She didn't have to squint through the rain to know who had found them, the black shapes consumed what little sunlight cracked through the trees, bringing nightfall to the forest. She knew exactly who they were.

"Shit, oh shit." Elliott gasped in her ear, still clutching her sides. An appropriate reaction, considering they were now surrounded by eighty furious looking apes. Aria's able brain worked at a million miles per hour, trying different combinations of escape until one of them stuck. She knew all about 'Caesar's Army', knew they hated humans, she had been there with her parents when they'd attacked on mass and lead her family through the streets in chains. She didn't know what happened after that point or why so many of them had fled to the town hall. The soldiers from the North arrived quickly and shot down the apes that still held the civilians' prisoner. No one had seen anything of the creatures since, some believed Caesar himself had been taken down and that was why no more attacks had come. How do you reason with a creature that wants your entire species dead?

Suddenly a silver chimpanzee landed on the leaves in front of them, causing Aria and Elliott to stumble backwards. It stood up on two feet until it was almost eye level with Elliott and growled.

"Human…NOT…bring…GUN…into WOODS"

Now, Aria had been told of the apes evolving to be able to speak but she'd never heard it. Knowing they could hadn't prepared her for the chill that would rock her spine when they did.

"O-okay" she gasped palms out in front of her now, in her nineteen years, she'd never been so terrified.

"We don't mean any harm, we came here for medicine."

"HUMAN…LEAVE…NOW."

"Okay Okay" Elliott gasped nodding furiously, gripping Aria's forearm and pulling her back in slow steps with him.

"HAND OVER GUNS FIRST."

 _They want to take our weapons before we turn our backs and leave, will they even let us leave once we've handed them over? We don't have a lot of options. FUCK._ She remembered that she had the skinning blade strapped in her knee-high boots but that was it. She hadn't even been properly trained in knife fighting. She knew Elliott had a handgun hidden on him too. _It'll have to do_

The two teenagers laid their visible weaponry on the grass slowly, never breaking eye contact with who they'd assumed to be the leader of the group. Aria nodded slowly. _Okay?_ She turned to Blake who was lowering his machine gun, he glanced back at her. She froze when their eyes met, his cold eyes much darker than usual. She knew that look only too well. _Oh no._

"BLAKE NO!" she screamed. But it was too late. The gunshots split the clearing and she watched wide eyed as the apes in front of Blake fell to the ground. He took off running through the space he'd created. Howls of ferocity erupted from behind her. They would be slaughtered within seconds if they didn't follow him. Elliott had already started running and she followed, swiftly overtaking him through the dense woods.

A scream ripped through her ears and she knew Elliott had been taken down. She gritted her teeth, every nerve in her body yelled at her to keep moving despite wanting to help her friend. There was just one scream though – he was already dead. Tears began blurring her vision and she smacked straight into Blake. She took him down with a thud but as quickly as they fell, he was up again, so much stronger than her. Though this time, he clutched at her hand and dragged her up with him.

"Come on!" were the last words Aria heard before hot blood splattered across her face. She stared wide-eyed at her boyfriend as she processed. A thick spear head jutted out from his chest, mere inches from her nose and his body trembled aggressively. She was almost sick. She knew she had to run again but she couldn't, that was it, that was too far. She remained frozen as the apes surrounded her once again.

" _Are you OK Ari?" Blake chuckled tearing off a piece of fabric from his Steel Panther t-shirt and wrapping it tightly around his forearm. The warmth and cheekiness of his smile would have, as always, been enough to calm the storm inside of her, if she could only lift her worried gaze from his arm._

" _Come on baby, it's just a little blood..."_

Blake's eyes faded quickly and he was gone. Aria heard a crunch behind her and she turned around to see an ape holding her at knife-point. _Not like this._ The seconds passed as hours and she squeezed her eyes shut, praying her body would be returned to her parents.

Then suddenly the apparent leader of the group grabbed the ape's shoulder in an all too human fashion and signed something to him. Aria had learned quite a bit of sign language in school, everybody had in order to communicate with those afflicted by the Simian Flu.

 **Caesar will want to question alive one. Find out about other humans.**

The ape before her lowered his weapon in agreement and quickly seized her upper arms.

 _Well, I guess that means their ruler is alive after all. God help the human race.  
_

* * *

 **Thanks for reading, I'd really appreciate it if you left a review letting me know what you thought!**


	2. Chapter 2

Evening had begun its descent upon the forest by the time they reached the colony. Aria squinted through the tears, unable to wipe them away with her arms bound. She hated feeling so vulnerable. The towering trees were becoming gradually replaced with fort like beams and she could hear hoots surrounding her. She couldn't get the image of Blake's skewered body out of her head. _Will that be my body soon_ _?_ The gorilla leading her stopped abruptly and she smacked right into him, he didn't seem to notice, he was staring at whatever commotion was unfolding ahead of them. Aria craned her neck to look past him and immediately regretted it. There, not ten feet from her, was the bullet tarnished corpse of the ape Blake had killed. There was a high pitched howling as another smaller bonobo scrambled to it's side. The noise was full of such pain and hysteria it shook Aria to the core. _So emotional, was that even possible for apes?_ She assumed it was the dead ape's mate. She forgot herself for a moment, fascinated that the apes had even bothered to carry the dead's bodies home. Would anyone even find her comrades' bodies?

There was a hard shove to her back as her captors urged her to keep moving. The scene quickly disappeared behind her until the bonobo's cry was nothing more than a faint echo. The hooting had vanished and there was silence now as they entered the clearing, which was so much more frightening. It dawned on her that there wasn't another ape in sight, she thought they'd have gathered around her howling and trying to attack her but instead she was assaulted by nothing but the harsh rain. She was glad for it. It would mask her tears and she wouldn't have to appear so weak in front of their leader. She took in her surroundings, desperately searching for anything that might aid her escape. A large wall made up of sharp beams surrounded the entire area, it looked far too dangerous to climb. She spotted a cave entrance on the far side of the clearing, presumably there was an exit at the back if she could run through. God knows how many apes were inside though. She'd have to get up to it first which would require climbing the giant boulders that jutted out from all angles. She had done quite a bit of bouldering with her dad, but she doubted she could out-climb a chimpanzee.

Suddenly the ape holding her forearms, threw her forward. She hit the ground with the side of her face, squeezing her eyes shut to avoid getting dirt in them. Her arms were finally free and as she managed to lift herself shakily into a press up position, peeling her body off the thick mud. She caught sight of her captor's leg behind hers and in one second of hot headed desperation she thrust her foot back into his knee cap. The ape crumpled, stunned by her action and she seized the moment to jump to her feet. As her head whipped up, ready to run, she froze.

Stood on two legs before her was the most intimidating chimpanzee she'd ever seen. He looked down on her from a good six or so inches, his broad back and arms making her look tiny by comparison. She didn't need a sign to know who it was. How had he appeared so fast? He hadn't even been in sight two seconds ago. They locked eyes for what felt like thirty minutes. The rain was heavy now, pouring, and the only sound for miles. _Caesar._

After a couple of seconds in real time she was brought to her knees again, harder this time, so hard she was sure she'd fractured a knee cap. The ape whom she'd attacked yanked her head up by a fistful of blonde hair.

"HUMAN. ATTACK. APE." He managed, raising a spear behind her. "HUMAN. KILL. APE."

"No! I didn't attack anyone please!" Aria winced in pain but turned to Caesar with her palms in the air.

"Your apes surrounded us and my comrade attacked, I tried to stop him…he wouldn't listen."

She could feel the tears welling in her eyes again and it made her angry, so angry she had to grit her teeth to stop from saying something she'd regret.

"You killed him!" she yelled at Caesar "and you killed someone innocent too you bastard!"

She gasped realizing the words that had come out of her mouth. She'd accused Caesar of being her friends' murderer, not because he had delivered the blow or was even there, but because he was ape. She was as bad as her captors. What was the point in arguing that she was innocent when she'd just condemned Caesar simply because he was the same species. For the first time she hated both human and ape, hated them for this war, hated herself for becoming no more than a product of it. She slacked slightly and Caesar's startling green eyes continued to stare at her.

After a few more seconds he lifted his heavy gaze and raised a hand up to the ape confining her. She watched his gaze shift again and he began signing.

 ** _Rocket. Is she telling the truth?_**

She assumed 'Rocket' had said yes because the spear never came and when Caesar met her eyes again, his were slightly less frightening.

"Are there more humans in the woods?"

His voice was deep and he sounded tired, in a way that was oddly human.

"Not anymore. I'm the only one alive."

"Where are you from?"

"One of the colonies that survived your attack last year. We moved."

"Where?"

Aria pursed her tips together and stared heavily at the ape king. His jaw tightened and he looked vaguely annoyed.

"You are young. Why did they send you here?"

"I'm a medical researcher, the Simian virus is evolving to find new ways of attacking the immune and so they sent us to try and find a cure.

 ** _Not a soldier._** An orangutan with a wide faced signed to the leader.

"The men who were with you?"

"Soldiers, except for one. Elliott, he was a researcher like me. No, better. He wouldn't have hurt a fly."

"Your mate?"

"No. The other one...today your apes murdered my 'mate' and my friend." Aria spat "this is a great day for you."

At this Caesar's eyes changed, something flickering in them that she could not competently perceive. She almost thought it was sadness, like her words meant a great deal to him. _Impossible. He's a savage._ He seemed to be considering for a long time before he turned to Rocket and began signing.

 **She lives. I think her leg is injured, she cannot walk.**

 **She cannot stay here. We cannot trust her.**

 **I know that Rocket, we will send her on horseback in the direction of her old colony. The lights still on, still power in city, she can contact her family there.**

 **What if she tells soldiers where we are?**

 **She'll go blindfolded.**

Caesar then crouched in front of the girl and to her alarm, pressed his palm flat against the cloth covering her abdomen. His hand felt large and rough even through her top, like if he wanted he could punch a hole through her.

Her body stiffened at the contact and she flinched when his other hand gripped the bottom of her vest top.

With that he tore off a shred of material and fixed it around her head, sending her whole world into darkness. She knew she should be frightened, losing her most relied upon sense in such a circumstance. But instead she breathed out a sigh of relief, it meant she was going home, her remains wouldn't be strung up as nothing more than a unsettling warning. She had visualized it as she received her leg wound: her skull pitched up high by the entrance of the ape village. STAY AWAY. At least now she'd have the opportunity to die via the evolution of the Simian Flu like every other poor bastard on planet Earth. It probably wouldn't hurt as badly as what the apes would have done to her. It did occur to her though that all those problems Rocket had brought up could be solved through killing her. The stories she'd heard of Caesar told of a barbaric primitive that wanted to wipe out her entire species and replace them. So why didn't he just kill her?

She was snatched from her thoughts as her wrists were bound tightly behind her by what felt like vine. Caesar finally took a step backwards and made a strange calling. She couldn't see a thing, God damn why hadn't she worn a thinner top. She knew she had been lifted and then placed upon the horse because a searing pain blistered across her calf and she had to grind her teeth to stop from screaming. She panicked slightly when it dawned on her that she would be completely reliant on the horse to make the journey, if it fell she was done for. She had no power there. She hoped it would continue straight or maybe Caesar had a way of communicating directions with the animal. She laughed inside at the idea, but stranger things had happened.

As the horse began to trot, she felt it's neck tugged to the side. She assumed one of the apes had hold on the reigns. Aria slipped forward slightly as it seemed to bow underneath her and her thoughts raced. _Had they changed their minds?_ Her breathing was heavy as she braced herself. The rain interfered with her hearing so she jumped when she heard his voice less than a meter from her face.

"Do not. Come. Back."

 _Strange. Almost human if it wasn't so gravelly._ With that the horse rose and continued along it's path back into the woods, leaving Caesar and the ape colony behind.

* * *

It wasn't until about twenty minutes into the journey that Aria's muscled relaxed and she could breath normally again. Her first time into the Redwood in ten years and she was captured by the ape army. _Typical_. The image of her dead comrades reminded her of her failure. She sucked in a breath and pushed it out of her head. She had plenty of time to grieve when she reached the colony, right now she needed to stay alert. Not that there was much point, she was riding solo on a horse she had no control over and couldn't even use her hands to catch herself. Not to mention the makeshift blindfold that meant if anything was lurking in the woods that might want to eat her it had a very good chance of doing so. She wasn't doing a very good job of keeping her heart rate down. She let her mind focus on seeing her old colony and what she would tell them. Would she tell them Caesar was alive? She knew the place was ran by the military now and it was very likely they'd attack if they found out about him. She knew then that she couldn't tell anyone. He'd spared her life, and so she couldn't risk his. Aria couldn't help but dwell on that fact, she knew that some apes weren't bad, much like some humans weren't. But Caesar was the barbaric leader who'd turned the city's lights back on just so that he could see his army slaughter them. He was a warlord. Wasn't he? It's not like she'd whined and begged for her life. Sure she wasn't as brave as she'd hoped, but she wasn't weak. Aria always tried to be brave, the thing about bravery is...it's God damn **difficult.**  
She thought about his eyes, unforgettable in an animal and completely remarkable. They were intense but not _evil_ , they were angry and deadly serious but also...considerate. It was as though he was genuinely playing 'pros and cons' with Aria's life, not that she could think of any pros of that for him. He'd just spared her anyway. Was that out of morality or strategy? Did it lessen the benevolence of the act if it was both? Should the act itself be more important to her judgement than the reasons behind it? She'd spent a lot of time considering Deontological ethics since the war. Of course, she seemed to be the only person doing so. Most of the other people her age, and there weren't many left mind you, seemed too wrapped up in 'how to win against the savage apes'. She'd gotten Blake to read one of her most relevant Immanuel Kant books but he'd just called her 'deluded' to consider the 'sit down and talk' approach to be an option. But in Aria's eyes, that was always an option.

She was so tangled in the web of her thoughts that she didn't hear the rustling of leaves. Didn't notice the mountain lion stalking on higher ground. So when the horse, finally startled, took off, she screamed.

Her body rocked back and she squeezed her thighs together frantically so as not to fly off.

"STOP!" she screeched in desperation, she had no idea what the proper word was. The horse squealed and nickered as it ran. A snarl ripped through the trees behind her and she realized with a gasp that they were being chased. she remembered the knife in her boot. Her mind launched into crisis mode and began listing steps of survival, the first of which was freeing her damn wrists. The blindfold was a close second. Aria tried forcing her wrists apart to break the vine but it was no use. She was no where near strong enough for that.

 _SHIT. Aria THINK what can I use?_

The overhanging twigs slapping her body became realized and she slammed her torso forward onto the horse, thrusting her arms in the air behind her. Her arms were too short to catch anything strong enough. The cat sounded close now. She ground her teeth together and decided her only option left was to rip her hands through. She quickly gripped the edge of the makeshift saddle between her buttocks and began yanking her other hand through hysterically. Lucky for her the vines were sharp and ripped at the skin on her wrists. She cried out as it peeled back and her blood lubricated her wrists. Finally she tore her hands free and without dwelling on the pain, yanked off her blindfold. She looked around to see the cat at eye level with her now, running at the same speed on the high ground.

 _The knife._

She thrust her hand into the back of her boot just when it leapt at her.  
In a split second it had closed its jaws around her narrow shoulder and tore her body from the horse.

She screamed once more as teeth drilled into her flesh. For a split second it felt like she was a flying mass of screaming agony and nothing more. Then everything went dark.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading chapter 2! The next one will feature some of Caesar's POV too. This is my first fanfic so I'd really love reading your opinions on the story so far and any constructive criticism you might be able to give me...anything that can help improve my writing is appreciated :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Hi primates! Sorry for taking so long with this chapter. I started a new job last week and it took some settling in! Thank you so much for taking the time to review my story so far though and for your kind words - I hope you enjoy the next part :)**

* * *

Caesar's POV

"Do not. Come. Back."

The small female before him flinched when he spoke, he knew it was good that he had frightened her, but he still didn't enjoy doing so. He had become naturally less aggressive towards females when he came into conflict with them, squaring up more to the human men. Evolution was moving fast and had already changed his nature in so many ways. In fact his first instinct had been to stop Coal when he'd raised the spear to her head. There was something about this particular human girl that betrayed a fragility she seemed desperate to hide. She had yelled at him and accused him of murder and yet the look in her eyes told him she hadn't meant a word of it. Still, protecting his colony was and always had been his primary interest, and his life's only purpose. He wanted to _want_ the girl dead, and then she'd spoken those words 'you killed my mate' and accused him of taking pleasure in the fact. Is that really what the human race thought of Caesar now. The idea of taking pleasure in killing somebody's loved one, human or any other species, made him sick. For he knew that pain. Every night he knew it. Every night he'd see Cornelia, her final moments, the look of shock and pain in her soft eyes as the bullets tore into her back. He had saved her life when they were young, and his poor judgement had later taken it away. First, he had made the mistake of trusting Koba. Then, he had trusted soldiers. Trusted them to see reason. Trusted them to be like Will and Malcolm, how wrong he was. It was his wife that paid the ultimate price for his mistake. So whilst this girl's words had angered him, they'd near enough brought him to his knees. He couldn't convince himself to be OK with murdering another being, especially not this female creature with soft eyes that looked like she'd had to grow up far too soon, he didn't have the strength this time. So he watched, weakened, as the horse carried her off into the trees.

 **'Caesar, if she lied about no more humans out here...'**

 **'I don't believe she did, Rocket. Have the guards surround the wall anyway. I'll round up a patrol team. No more apes will die today.'  
**

"Doing. it. Again. Father."

Caesar turned to see his oldest son standing at the cave entrance, spear in hand. Caesar didn't respond for few seconds. It had been months since Blue Eyes had spoken to him like that. Naturally, after Cornelia's death he'd hated his father. Blamed him for it, believing that Koba, despite his betrayal, was rational in his genocide. Humans brought nothing but destruction and there was no reasoning with them. He wouldn't even talk to Caesar, he just sat on the bank near the waterfall and cried each night. It was after a week of witnessing this that Caesar snapped. His son was there when Caesar found the human's that killed Cornelia - there when Caesar brought his fists down with such fury that within seconds their faces were destroyed. He was there when there was nothing left but blood, teeth and Caesar's shame staring back at him.

 _"Happy now?!" Caesar bellowed, the fur around his face matted with human remnants._

Caesar remembered the look of shock and, to his horror, fear on his son's face before he shook his head.

 _No._

Their relationship had been tense ever since. Their family broken. Caesar glared once more into the accusing eyes of his son.

 **'Where is your brother?'**

 **'Asleep with Lake.'**

Blue Eyes signed nothing more and took off into the trees after the patrol party.

* * *

After twenty minutes of patrolling, all Caesar had found were the skewered bodies of the girl's comrades. They were young like her. Humans always looked much kinder in death, facial features relaxed, all traces of anger erased. He called Rocket to search them. After a couple of minutes he handed Caesar a shotgun. He turned it over in his palms feeling the weight of it. It wasn't much to his strength. It still amazed him how something so light could do so much damage. The fragility of life had been staring him in the face for a long time now.

Suddenly a shrill scream took hold of his attention.

 **'Maybe bear got her. That works out best for us'** Coal signed.

Caesar knew really that it was lucky that she'd been attacked. He should be relieved. Instead the idea that they'd disabled her, tied her up and sent her off into the Redwood to get eaten sat horribly with him. He wasn't as soft as he used to be, and perhaps the problem with finding a 'good' human was simply that there were not _enough_ of them left to play the odds. But had he really become the monster that would let a practically innocent creature die in such a painful, violent manner? Simply because of the actions her mate had taken? Was Cornelia, by association, responsible for all of Caesar's great mistakes?

 **'She didn't hurt ape. She was going to give us her gun and leave. She did not attack when her mate did'** Rocket signed back.

Caesar grunted and shrugged the leather strap over his shoulders _._

"Stay here."

There was another squeal, this time from the horse he'd sent her on. It sounded as though they were moving North-East. Caesar followed the sound, leaping from branch to branch. He could not outrun a horse and certainly not a mountain lion, but that didn't stop him from trying. If he could just get close enough to aim the shotgun...

There was a snarl from the ground ahead and a scream that had to be hers. He knew instantly that the predator had let the horse go and taken her from it. Caesar quickly dropped beneath the tree tops, practically falling from branch to branch until he had a clear view of the scene. Her body was flat as the cat rolled across it, playing mercilessly with its kill.

"AGHH" Caesar bellowed swinging the gun around into his arms to catch the cat's attention. Just as it moved far enough from the girl's body, he pulled the trigger.

The cat made a strangled noise and fell onto it's side. Caesar let out a puff of breath and slowly restored the shotgun to his back. He closed his bloodshoteyes, the new silence infiltrating, nesting.

 _He couldn't save her. Not this time. Not last time._

"Cornelia" he breathed.

The girl inhaled sharply. Caesar's head snapped up. _Alive._ He immediately dropped onto four legs and ran towards her. She lay on her back trembling but unconscious. Blood pumped and flowed heavily from the puncture wounds in her shoulder and had caked most of her chest and neck. Caesar was no stranger to this sight. During the months since the war had started he'd seen more of the insides of humans than he'd seen of the outside. He hadn't seen a female like this though.

 _Don't let her suffer._

With a cold look on his face, Caesar pulled out the shotgun once more, and pointed it at the female's head.

"Ss..."

Bloodshot brown eyes flew open and Caesar froze. They were soft and full of confusion as they met his, it turned to fear, and then finally, pain. Every muscle in the ape's body slacked as he watched her.

 _Not this time, not last time._

 _NO._

He saw that her backpack was still tangled with one of her arms and he threw the gun to the ground. He yanked it open, grabbed the first piece of cloth he found and pressed it to her wound. He **would** save this girl, human or not.

* * *

Aria's POV

 _She's running. The sound of drums has engulfed her senses and it's all she hears, all she _tastes_ She thought she was running away at first but now she knows she's running towards. Knows because she'll do anything to keep hearing, no - feeling - it. Her whole body struggles to hear the drumming. War drums. She should have known. She needs to get there but - she's wearing a dress. Why. She doesn't wear dresses. It's clinging to her skin, making her ill.  
_

 _It's fucking hot._

 _She can feel the sweat, slick on her skin, running down her face. Struggling to hear the rhythm. She doesn't have a lot of time. Utter silence; her heart was beating in her chest in time with the drums. It falls dead. The air breathes a name..._

 _The forest that surrounded her has already fallen away. Along with the blinding white light, artificial surely, that split it._

 _Her heart had stopped in her chest; legs kicking uselessly. Slick with sweat; with blood. Her throat burning, and she couldn't see. Roaring in her ears. The world receding. Everything: friends, family, all falling away. Feeling her memories dying. Layer after layer she was peeled back, sense and identity being stripped away, pain leaving, until all she was was a shining speck –_

 _standing at the crossroads_

and _he_ was there.

She woke with a gasp, bolting upright and immediately regretting it.

Christ that hurt. It hurt even more when two pairs of large hands closed around her arms and pinned her back down. She instantly went into panic mode. Not awake enough yet to even see properly. She struggled against her restrains, ignoring the pain that rippled across her back. There was a lot of grunting and squawking from her captors. Didn't they understand she didn't talk ape?! Suddenly the events of the past 24 hours flooded back to her, her mind sifting through all of them until it rested on the image of an uncommonly large chimpanzee with a gun pointed at her face. She hissed and thrashed once again, she knew she was injured but by what she could not recall. It was as if someone had cut either end of her memories and crammed them all into one air-tight window.

"Let go of me!" she screamed, tears pricking at the corners of her eyes now. She really was putting herself in a lot of pain.

"It's OK" a gentle, feminine voice stilled her movements. "It's OK"

 _Human?_ Aria blinked the water around her eyes until she could see clearly, the ape before her. _No, of course not._

A female leaned over her and placed a hand on her thigh.

She had a softer face than the rest, younger maybe, and the fur on either side of her head was braided with coloured beads. She sounded slightly more human too, or maybe it was just the fact that she was the only one that hadn't yelled at her yet.

As she'd taken in the female, Aria's heart rate slowed and her body gave in slightly. That's when the pain pushed back to the foreground of her attention. She winced and allowed the apes to hold her still, remembering that it was not, in fact, their leader that had attacked her. She looked around at the faces of three curious and cautious chimps, then past them. She appeared to be inside of something, for the light was cast only by wooden torches. Her brain managed to pull from within, very briefly, the sensation of cool air and hands underneath her bones. A memory of quiet chattering and a few flickers of light. Then a clinging fog on her skin. With dry eyes and the fog, it was hard to make out, but the vast cave was still a solid presence in the mist.

"Why am I here?" the tremble in her voice betrayed her fear. "What are you going to do to me?"

"Lake. Get Caesar" the ape on her right grunted, his rough hands loosening their grip on her.

 **'I don't believe she will attack or run. The girl is injured and calmer now, I can keep her calm if I stay.'**

He removed his hands cautiously before signing back.

 **'Where is he?'**

 **'Bottom of the waterfall with Blue, overseeing the passing. You might want to wait Hazel, out of respect.'**

 **'Human is awake. Can't wait.'**

With that the male was gone, leaving her with only two apes now. Still two too many in Aria's book. Was their leader coming to pass judgement on her life again? Would he decide that, now she couldn't even get home, the only option was killing her? Pain splintered her shoulder once more as if to underscore her question. She tried to shift so that there was no pressure on it, but the makeshift bed didn't put a lot of inches between her and the ground. What was it made from... moss? Leaves? She wouldn't have expected anything in all honesty, she knew the ape colony were highly intelligent but the assumed in the cunning way not the 'home comforts' way. The medieval torches fascinated her too. As she checked her wound she discovered a thick leaf had been pressed against the puncture wounds. Aria cringed inwardly, did apes have a concept or sterilization? She'd find out in a few days when she either would or wouldn't die of infection.

"What passing?"

The ape named Lake snapped her head around at Aria, a look of blatant shock and then confusion across her features.

 **'You can understand sign?'**

Aria nodded. She'd asked because she was really starting to get the ritualistic sacrifice vibes from these apes. First the war paint, then there was some weird one with a witch doctor mask peering over at her now and then. They'd rescued her and taken her back to their colony. Caesar was attending some ceremony...it was all feeling way too 'Papa Legba' for her. Lake stared into her eyes for a while with careful consideration.

 **'Two of our apes were killed by soldier yesterday. They're sending the bodies downstream..'**

Jesus. It was a funeral. Aria looked away from Lake, shame engulfing her. Lake must have been perceptive because she grunted to get back Aria's attention.

 **'Rocket say you tried to stop soldier. Why?'**

Wait. _Yesterday?!_ She remembered it was afternoon when the apes had found them. She must have been asleep for at least seven hours. She met Lake's eyes again, she looked sad but genuinely curious. Aria wasn't the violent type, in fact, she hated violence. When you spend your entire adolescence, the frailest stage of your life, in a war zone, the adult you eventually become is a product of it. Most of her friends had gone one way, a tormented mind of hatred and revenge directed at anyone they didn't understand. Aria had gone the other. That's not to say she didn't fear the apes because she did, but she feared some humans she'd encountered just as much. How could she condone culling a species that had committed atrocities no worse than those committed by her own kind. She struggled to answer Lake's question, struggled to find the right words. She just wanted the killing to stop.

"Peace."

A grunt from her left made Aria jump. Stood on two feet at the entrance of the cavern, wearing a stern facial expression, was Caesar.

"I do not think that is achievable anymore."

His voice was as hoarse and as troubled as before, though his eyes were not quite as dark. Aria remembered him saving her now, she was in so much pain, so certain she was dying - he must have been about to put her out of her misery when she woke. But he hadn't. _Instead he brought me here._ Aria sat up on her elbows, it hurt but there was something about his presence that demanded it. The sheer primitive dominance at the core of every aspect of Caesar made it impossible to stay calm around him. She'd do her best not to let him see that though. She was annoyed at her body for reacting in such a submissive manner.

"Was it peace you were thinking about when you started this war?"

The ape from before - Hazel was it? - growled at her words.

 **'Have some respect. Caesar saved your life. He's saved all of our lives.'**

Does subtracting the 'bad' deeds from the number of 'good' equate to an overall decent person? Aria supposed it depended on the value of those deeds. How do you measure attacking what's left of a species against saving a different one? So in that instance, she decided to be selfish and feel grateful that Caesar had saved _her_ life. He raised his hand to Hazel, silencing him.

"What is your name female?" Caesar asked, ignoring her snappy comment.

"Aria. Why did you bring me here? Why did you save me at all?"

Caesar wore a stern expression, she was beginning to think he didn't have another one. His eyes told her that he was in thought, considering how to answer her questions.

" **You** deserve to know that apes are not monsters. When you return home, you will tell them this."

So he'd saved her to prove to her colony that his weren't savages? It was a tactical advantage rather than a moment of empathy? The thing that set Caesar apart from most apes she'd encountered - it was _all_ in his eyes. When he'd held that gun to her face, his eyes held all the pain in the world. It couldn't be for her, she was human and he didn't even know her, it was for something else. And certainly more than a tactical advantage.

"Thank-" his face hardened and he cut her off.

"You will stay with us for three days, when you are well, you will return. Apes will go with you to bridge."

She couldn't believe he was sending his own with her, to protect her. She'd heard stories about him over the years - 'brutal leader of the ape tribes' - that completely contradicted how he'd treated her in the past, God knows how many, hours. She had no idea how to react to him now. Part of her was grateful for his kindness, the other part was terribly unnerved.

"Lake, Hazel, leave her now. She will continue to rest."

Without another glance in Aria's direction, the apes were gone, leaving her disconcerted and very alone.  
She collapsed back down onto the makeshift bedding; still incredibly weak. So much had happened that she didn't understand. When she'd read about animal testing as a child, she'd been furious and disgusted. So when the battle at the bridge was on her television screen, she was secretly elated. Then, after the flu outbreak, the liberated apes had attacked her colony. She felt betrayed almost. So much had happened between the time of that naive little girl who had a heart bigger than her, and the woman she'd grown into. She wasn't the sort to generalize but she knew that this new world was one where humanity and ape were enemies. If one of them had wandered into her colony, the military would never let it live. Let alone rescue it and patch up its injuries.

Within moments of deep thought, she was asleep once again.

* * *

The next morning, when Aria awoke, the abnormally wide face of an orangutan leaned over hers.

"Ah!"

She scrambled backwards away from the creature. Jesus w _hat the fuck is THAT?!  
_ It made a noise that reminded her strangely of a Shisha pipe and the information flooded back to her. She relaxed; she was still with the ape tribe. This one was creepy as heck though.

"W-what do you want?"

It looked a little alarmed at her reaction and appeared to be considering something carefully. Then, to Aria's surprise, it picked up something from the corner and held it out at arm's length to her. It was her backpack! She'd completely forgot about it. She shuffled a little closer to the orangutan and when she met it's eyes, it had the warmest look in them, nodding at her to take it.

She quickly drew it to her, digging through it desperately until she found her water bottle. God she hadn't realized how dehydrated she was. Once she'd drank enough to think straight, she glanced up the ape.

"Thank you..."

 **'You're welcome. My name is Maurice...are you hungry?'  
**

Aria was completely bewildered by Maurice but the truth is, she was starving. So she nodded. The orangutan imitated her gesture and then left the cavern.

 _Geez they brought my bag with them and everything. Animals wouldn't have even thought..._

She continued rummaging until she found the holy item - _Aria of four days ago was a babe -_ antibiotic cream! Peeling back the leaf and ignoring the soreness that followed, she began rubbing the cream on her wounds.

Maurice was back after five minutes with a handful of blue Concord grapes. She just stared at him in disbelief _\- OK so they're feeding me now too._ She had to admit, she was a bit fond of this one, he had kind eyes and looked very cuddly. Although that sort of thinking usually lead to bitten off limbs. She didn't hesitate when taking the fruit, she figured if they wanted her dead then she wouldn't be there.

 **'Caesar says you must stay inside today.'  
**

"Why?"

 **'He is talking to the apes who don't agree with a human staying here.'**

"Oh..." Aria shifted uncomfortably, popping another grape into her mouth "if it's such a problem why didn't he just kill me and be done with it?"

 **'Caesar has never killed anybody without good reason. He is not a savage.'**

"So all of Dreyfus's men...people's fathers, people's _sons_what was Caesar's 'good' reason that night?"

Maurice's eyes flashed with surprise. _Shit, watch your mouth Aria._

 **'Caesar did not start this war Aria. I suppose it makes sense that the humans don't know that...that night, at the tower, Caesar came to stop the war.'**

"He's your leader is he not?"

 **'Yes but there was an named Koba...his hatred of humans consumed him until there was nothing left. He was like a brother to Caesar, but he betrayed him. When Caesar was down he turned the ape colony against the humans, made them believe that Caesar was dead, that it was your fault. He started the war.'**

Aria stared blankly at Maurice. The first time she saw Caesar, he was on horseback with his army. He'd almost look regal, if it weren't for the flashes of striking white and red across his fur; stark colours that warned of the violence and blood to come. The sirens were still deafening and her mother had pulled her away from the crowd. Later that evening, her father told them that the apes did not want war and had only come as a warning to the colony. But they had spoken. She knew from that moment they were more than just animals. But coming here...it became clear that they had developed natures and civilizations as morally complex and advanced as her own species.

"Then why did he let me think it was him that started it?"

Maurice looked sad _-_ **'he thinks it does not matter anymore'**

"He mustn't think a lot of us humans then."

' **You must understand, Caesar has suffered great losses. He is not a God.'**

"and what do _you_ know of God?!" Aria snapped. She instantly felt guilty.

' **It's OK. You have suffered losses too...'**

This stopped Aria in her tracks. _War makes you_ _unkind._ She wondered what Caesar had loved and lost. Assuming apes _could_love. It suddenly dawned on her that she'd been unfair to Caesar. He'd spared her life, despite her comrades attacking his kind, and then he'd actually saved her and given her shelter. It was strange to think about the tall painted creature on the horse showing _anyone_mercy.

"Maurice may I be left alone? I think I need to sleep again."

Maurice nodded and left.

Aria had no intention of sleeping; she didn't have enough answers yet. Now that she was healing, she needed to talk to the leader himself.


	4. Chapter 4

The air outside the cave was humid from yesterday's rain and the morning mist clung to her skin. Aria hated this weather, it felt like nature's way of trying to suffocate her. She was glad she'd left her pullover in the cave, she'd need to at least try to get some of the mud off her before putting that on. It would be important to stay as clean as possible over the next few days if she was going to avoid getting her wounds infected. So she'd managed to find the way out of the cave from her chamber, which wasn't much of a distance but still a strain on what appeared to be a sprained knee, now to find **him.**

She had to admit, their primitive village was impressive, considering they must have built it in under ten months. It made her wonder what their previous home was like. She'd made her way back to the vast clearing that lay in wake of the cave and found it to be rather quiet, save for just a few apes dotted here and there. They all looked up when Aria entered.

Two females grooming each other on the rocks stood up and growled. It was like reverse dominoes as one after another rose and began pant-hooting at the human intruder.

 _I thought Caesar spoke with them about me. Maybe they have the 'out of sight is out of mind' stance on the situation._

No wonder Maurice told her to stay inside. They hadn't approached her though so she hoped they were just displaying their dislike rather than preparing to attack. What's more, most of them had young with them...they were civilized weren't they? Aria avoided making eye contact and began climbing down the boulders. A loud hooting caught her off guard and she slipped on the wet rock, grazing her leg. A bonobo had advanced and made its presence known to her. It had a small head atop narrow shoulders and a slender build that distinguished it from the chimps. When she met its eyes, Aria immediately recognised it to be the grieving mate she'd seen on her way into the ape village. _Oh no._

The mate was growling now and moving on two legs. _So revenge is another among the concepts we share._

Aria slowly crouched before the mourning female and slipped her fingers into the back of her boot, feeling for the knife that still resided there. She didn't want to use it. God, she really didn't. Her mind was racing with ideas to get out of the situation before it escalated.

"Shiva" the same gentle voice that had calmed her the night before. Lake.  
Aria hadn't seen her in the clearing, she must have heard the commotion and come down. She stood a few feet to the right of the bonobo and reached out her hand to touch Shiva's tense shoulder, an incredibly human gesture of trust - where had she learned that?

 **'Stop. We mustn't think like Koba.'** She urged tentatively.

When the mate looked back at Aria, her eyes were full of tears threatening to spill over. It was as though she wanted to force herself to attack the human girl but simply could not. She'd seen war, she didn't expect to see it in the eyes of a bonobo ape. Had they always been capable of such raw emotion or was this yet another side effect of the flu? Aria felt a pang of anguish for the apes that came before; locked up in cages, paraded in the circus - in her mind, it had always been cruel but only now had she realized just _how_ cruel. If they had always been this self-aware...she quickly shut that thought away in a tight little box and pushed it to the back of her mind. Her shoulder slumped and she slipped the knife back into her boot, abandoning her defense. Then Aria did something that stunned them all.

 _Show them not everything has to be resolved through violence._

Slowly, Aria bowed her head before the mate and offered her hand, palm up. She'd read so much in her short lifetime that it was hard to pick out the useful bits - but when her mind finally settled, she saw with perfect clarity, what to do.

 _Show a willingness to listen, to empathize...to compromise._

The apes, even Lake, were taken back by her action. For this was not a human thing to do. Shiva didn't touch her palm; didn't grant her permission. But she didn't attack her either - it was a start. Shiva rocked back restlessly, shoulders slumping she turned her back and then disappeared into the trees, leaving Aria with nothing but a nervous sweat. She let out a huff of relief and began inspecting the cut on her thigh - it wasn't very deep, just a surface wound. She probably wouldn't have even been marked if she hadn't worn cargo shorts.

"Do you know where Caesar is?" she stood up and dusted herself off.  
Lake looked over her, hard; trying work the girl out.

 _I bet she knows I'm supposed to be staying inside today. I'll have to pretend I'm going back and then try to slip out the cave another way.  
_ But to her surprise, Lake nodded with an expression that almost seemed like she _wanted_ her to find him - like it was an excellent idea.

 **'Downstream'**

"Thanks" Aria nodded and began following the river.

 _Koba._ Who was this guy anyway? Was he still part of the tribe? Or in some sort of ape prison? It suddenly seemed fascinating to her how they dealt with 'bad apes' in their civilization. She felt sometimes that they were a similar to the humans that lived centuries ago, like hairy Huns or something…was there some barbaric death penalty for 'bad apes' ? Her question was answered when she came to a fallen rock, bigger than the walls in her house, lying flat on its side. Into the stone the carved words – 'ape not kill ape'. Except the last 'ape' was almost scratched through.

Sat in front of those words, was the ape she'd come looking for. He was perched on the edge of a log bench with his head down and a sharp looking rock in his hands.

 _Had he written that? Or did the scratching?_

She hoped it wasn't the latter and that this wasn't a really bad time to approach him. She needed to talk to him, everything she thought she knew had been turned upside down in a matter of days. For the first time it seemed like peace among human and ape might actually be possible, she _had_ to talk to him. She had to know - was it? She figured she should probably clear her throat or something so that he doesn't jump out of his skin and attack-

"Human does not do as she is told."

It was her who jumped. Those damn ape senses. His voice was gruff but he didn't sound angry, just a little annoyed. He didn't look at her, his eyes seemed glued to that writing. Aria sucked in a breath and decided to be brave; she sat down on the log bench about a meter from Caesar. His torso was typically longer than his legs and that of a human's, so the height difference was much larger sitting - when had chimpanzees gotten so big?

"Thank you for saving my life…" she tried. He didn't flinch, but she could see his eyebrows draw together slightly. Annoyed again. He dropped the rock. Aria shifted uncomfortably as they sat in silence together. She knew she was in a potentially dangerous position, but she had to try, for the sake of her family, her species.

"When I get home, I'll make sure everyone knows about this. They've thought for months that you started this war."

Something unreadable in Caesar's eyes faded into a grim expression and he closed them. She remembered Maurice saying that Caesar believed it didn't _matter_ what humans thought about him anymore. Perhaps he was right. Perhaps if she sat down before the colonel from the North and explained the true events of that night, he would still want them dead anyway. She hadn't met him, but she knew that he'd turned her old home into nothing more than a military base that saw the execution of every human carrier of the Simian Flu. Perhaps it didn't matter what _he_ thought - but there were some good men left, some good men whose hatred was misplaced and unproductive, they needed to know. If there was less hatred in this new world - that had to count for something right?

He seemed to be in deep thought again, God she was fascinated by what could be going on in his head.

"What are you thinking?"

That got his attention. His eyes flickered down at her sideways, surprised. _Shit, Aria watch it. You're still not talking to a man._ But his glare was gone as soon as it had landed.  
No answer.  
She didn't expect him to answer; it was a silly question really. Why on Earth would he tell a human his musings?

"Sorry I just - I know you're Caesar and... that night at the tower, we all thought you wanted to wipe us out. That's why they hate you, because they think it was you."

No answer.

Her eyes dropped down away from him and she noticed, for the first time, the tear at the bottom of her shirt; exposing the bottom of her taught tummy. She was under fed and it was beginning to show, but then everybody was under fed now. She remembered Maurice bringing her grapes earlier that morning and actually talking to her. She was irritated now. _Who put this arrogant bastard in charge anyway?_

"So you can talk…but you won't talk to me. Because I'm human."

No answer.

How frustrating. He wouldn't even look at her now.

"So you drop me in the same moral boat as Blake. Because I have the same number of chromosomes."

As soon as the name escaped her lips it stung, she hadn't meant to use his name so casually like that. She'd been really trying not the think about her deceased friends, she would find time to grieve properly when she was safe and alone. At least that was the adult thing to do she decided, for now she'd swallow her pain. Or turn it into anger. She decided to give up trying to communicate with Caesar, she was hoping it was a bad time now, or maybe she was just wrong about him wanting peace. Maybe he had at first but the war had changed him too. Maybe they were all just utterly fucked. Aria rose to her feet ready to leave.

"But I tried not to treat you as though you are like Koba.." she snapped turning away from him.

Suddenly a strong hand closed around her wrist and stopped her in her tracks. It pulled her back around roughly. Her eyes locked with his and they were darker than she'd ever seen. She was panic stricken but visibly angry. His eyes glared up at her, burned into her and adrenaline coursed through her veins.

"I am like Koba."

Aria was caught off-guard by this remark, her eyebrows drew together as she tried to understand what he meant. The soreness of her wrist against his callous palms made her hiss through her teeth. Caesar's eyes suddenly dropped to her wrist and widened. His fingers loosened and he stared dumbly at the scarred flesh captured by them. The wounds had only just started to scab over and little beads of blood were starting to appear. She didn't think he'd meant to hurt her, but he had anyway. Something beyond her comprehension flashed in his eyes. Was that guilt?

 _Yes. You did that._

Aria narrowed her eyes and pulled herself out of his now loose hold. Without another exchange s he turned and left, marching back up the hill towards her rocky prison.

 _Well that didn't go to plan._

* * *

Caesar's POV

The human had left him unsettled and disgruntled. He'd come down here for one fleeting moment of peace and now he felt as highly strung as ever. Leading the ape army was stressful at best, and insufferable at worst. There was always someone he needed to put in place, something that needed fixing, a council meeting he had to lead or, on a particularly bad day, another swaddled member of his colony he'd need to send down the river. He didn't have time to fix his relationship with Blue Eyes, he didn't have time to raise Cornelius, he didn't have time to do all the things a father _should_ do. He was both King and military commander. They'd barely made it out of San Fransisco after the night at the tower and they'd been under attack ever since. Caesar had clung desperately to his love for humans throughout the past ten years but now he needed to be ruthless, he needed to be the 'bad ape' for the sake of his species. So he and his army had battled the humans ruthlessly, taking no prisoners...until now. His only weakness, and it was a weakness in the new world, was his compassion. Still there, unrecognised by him, but beyond reach. Most of the time.

It would be so much easier if the human girl would stay where he'd put her and he'd need not encounter her again until she was well enough to depart. He could forget about what he'd done, his moment of weakness, and continue with planning the mission to the south. Of course she wasn't going to let him do that. He'd always spared the ones like her, like Malcolm - sure she had a lot less control over her emotions than Malcolm but then she was also much younger. He believed it was the right thing to do but in doing so, bad things had always happened. He regretted saving her from the moment she'd thanked him. Not because he wished her dead but because she'd demonstrated acknowledgment to his species as self-aware, feeling creatures like her own. She'd demonstrated understanding and a willingness to negotiate, there was no place for that in this new world of human against ape, he knew it would eventually get her killed. There weren't many left like Aria and Malcolm - of that much he was certain. Most of the humans left, had they not be dealing with the plague, would probably have charged the Redwood after the battle on the bridge all those years ago. Humans didn't like what they didn't understand - he knew that too. This war was inevitable.

The sun had just reached its highest point beyond the thinning layer of mist and Caesar knew the council meeting was about to start. He swung deftly through the trees, moving to the top of the waterfall and dropping through the gap there. He landed lightly on the rock, entering the cave and passing through the school to check briefly on Cornelius.

 **'Caesar we're all here.'** \- Rocket - his second in command - had emerged from the court room.

"Good. Then let's start."

* * *

 **'We've spent the last ten months trying to get away from humans - now we have one living among us?!'**

 **'Kinder to kill her anyway'  
**

 _Well geez that doesn't sound good.  
_

Aria hadn't a clue what they'd been talking about before her - something about a fort being successful and some soldiers from the North. Nobody in her current colony heard much from the North, she knew they'd been fighting the apes for months but the soldiers in her colony seemed more concerned with fighting each other. They weren't talking about the North anymore though, they were talking about her and she felt the danger she faced coming here. She'd been annoyed by Caesar's complete dismissal of her and then his even more baffling outburst so she'd came back to the cave. Of course she'd gotten lost. It amazed her that the captain had been so desperate that he hadn't deployed a single person with actual mapping skills. Mind you, the cave turned out to be enormous. She'd heard a lot of barking and chattering at one point, there must have been a large space where most of the tribe resided, she'd headed in the opposite direction. Eventually she'd come across a cavern she'd almost mistaken for hers, if it weren't for the vast chasm and waterfall flowing at the far end. And, of course, the seven apes sitting in the middle. She'd meant to move, she knew she needed to, but once again she was was held in place by her fascination with the other species. They were holding some kind of _meeting_. So she stayed, hands splayed against the stone wall, eye-level with one of the cracks.

' **Now you are sounding like your old leader** **.' -** an ape she recognized to be Rocket signed a little derisively.

She had no knowledge of the tension between the council members, so when a speckled ape with grey fur and old eyes barked, she nearly jumped out of her skin.

"Grey" - a young looking one with scars across his face and chest warned.

What ever rank Rocket was in must have been pretty high because it was at that moment Caesar came into full view, standing on two legs, towering over 'Grey'. It was impossible not to be affected by Caesar's authority, even at Aria's distance. She watched in awe as Grey submitted to Caesar's harsh glare.

 **"Human will be gone in two days. We will speak no more of this - we must refocus, we've lost nearly a quatre of our ranks in the last two months.'**

A sharp tap on the head made Aria squeak and almost blow her cover. She rounded immediately on the attacker - fight or flight response draining what little adrenaline she had left from the day. It couldn't have been one-o'clock yet!

 **'Human trying very hard to get herself killed'** Lake signed hastily before grabbing the bewildered teen by the back of her top and dragging her towards the edge of the cave platform. For one frightening moment Aria thought the chimp meant to throw her over. Instead, Lake just pushed her beneath one of the inclines, out of hearing distance of the meeting.

"Did you follow me here?" Aria panted.

 **'No. Cornelius did - I just saw you doing stupid thing.'**

It was at that moment Aria noticed the little chimp hiding behind Lake's legs, gripping onto the fur there. He was a tiny baby with little ears and big eyes and Aria's jaw dropped. He was the most precious thing she'd ever seen.

She tried to make a sound a little softer than 'hello' but he looked frightened and hid his face, she couldn't believe such a nervous little thing would have followed her.

 **'He is very shy these days. So curious before...still curious. But he has seen much.'**

She could believe that much. Baby chimps were always curious, grabbing onto anything they saw and investigating, what had he seen to scare him this much? Had he been hurt by humans? She imagined the sort of people who would want to hurt a tiny baby like him and it put a vile taste in her mouth.

"It's OK, he's curious because I'm human, but it's good that he's too shy to actually approach us." - she looked at the ape a little sadly. For the first time, she felt like she was really intruding here. Like sitting in the bedroom of a house whose owner you hadn't met. This was that baby's home and she'd invaded it. Humans had no right to be here. "Your son is very cute."

Lake released a pant-hoot that sounded weirdly like laughter and slumped down in front of Aria. She brought Cornelius around onto her chest. **'Not my son. Caesar's son. I collect him from school today because Caesar and Blue Eyes, other son, are having important discussion.'**

"I didn't know Caesar was a father."

 **'He's father to us all.'**

 _She definitely doesn't realize how bad that sounds._

Aria looked across Lake, considering her. The female had sort of saved her from trouble twice today and when she spoke to her, Aria felt a strange warmth. She was kind with a gentle voice and youthful eyes but it was something more than her appearance. Some unspoken girlie thing. A female human and a female ape. Aria guessed they were around the same age relatively speaking, maybe Lake was a few years younger. Sixteen maybe in human years? The thing is she'd never felt that with a non-human animal before despite what gender they were. The ALZ drug had done more than increase their intelligence. Or had it?

"Why do you call him that? Why do you follow him?"

 _By the sounds of it they really love him._ Which seemed interesting to her; most dictators only ever harvest fear. And _he_ was so damn rude.

 **'The awakening. He woke up my father and mother, all of the adults. He gave us life and is the reason we are free today.'**

Aria had read that a drug - ALZ-113, the successor of the one that had been used on Caesar's mother, had been inhaled by the apes at San Bruno and was ultimately responsible for their evolution. It was science to Aria, but the way Lake described it made it sound biblical. Lake stared back her, like she hadn't quite made her mind up on whether or not to like the human girl.

' **Nobody talks to Caesar the way you did'** Lake's eyes looked more intrigued than accusing. So she'd eavesdropped on their confrontation earlier. Was it possible that some of these apes were just as curious about her as she was of them?

"I know he is your leader and so I wanted to communicate. I'm not an ambassador of war."

' **Then what are you?'**

Cornelius had turned his face around at the question and locked eyes with her. He really was very cute.

"Hopeful." Aria mumbled. She dug her hand into her wide pocket and retrieved one of the grapes she'd stashed. She looked at Lake with unspoken reassurance before reaching her hand out to Cornelius, offering the fruit. A flash of excitement lit up his face when her closed palm stretched towards him but when revealed, he looked a little disappointed with the grapes. Maybe he would have preferred the exotic human nutriment that was the Malteser. He took it anyway, mostly interested because it came from her.

 _See._

 **'I understand'** Lake signed and scratched her head **'But not all like that.'**

"No"

Lake looked over the girl's form and then reached a long arm out towards Aria's face, the latter immediately froze. Lake hesitated at the girl's reaction but only momentarily and grabbed a piece of stray hair that had escaped down the side of her head. Then, to Aria's fascination, the ape reached up with her free hand and grabbed a piece of her own, much shorter hair from beside her ears.

"White." Lake stated simply, gently tracing her thumb over it. Aria's hair was actually quite a dark blonde in that season, she wasn't about to try and explain that to Lake though. "Mud. Lots."

 _Right._ She was still covered in dry mud from being repeatedly thrown into it. Becoming aware of it made it suddenly impossible to ignore.

"I know, I need to get this off."

A dark shape came into view behind Lake's head and caught Aria's attention. Caesar had emerged from the cavern, his heavy gaze finding her and resting, he looked a little exasperated before turning away to mutter something to one of the others. Two apes approached, the orangutan Maurice and one she soon realized to be Caesar's son Blue Eyes. Cornelius jumped out of Lake's arms and scrambled towards his older brother excitedly who reached an arm down for him to climb up. Blue Eyes glared at her apprehensively before shifting his gaze onto Lake - he looked pissed with her.

 **'I was just talking. Why do you care?'** Lake signed clearly annoyed herself. She looked far too petulant for an ape and Aria suspected there was some unresolved tension between the two chimps.

 **'I...don't'**

Lake was clearly angry now and after tossing Blue Eyes an angry hoot, she stormed off. He gaped after her before growling under his breath and following.

 _What's their deal._

Aria looked after them and Maurice approached with an amused smile plastered across his wide face.

 **'Come on. You are supposed to be sleeping. It's not safe for you to wander around here.'**

"I got lost. Am I a prisoner here then?"

Maurice thought for a moment. "Yes." he said in spoken language **'but not for long. When you are ready you will be sent home, back to your colony.'**

"You mean my old colony."

 **'We do not know the way to your current home and it's not safe for you to go alone.'**

"There are only soldiers there now. You won't be able to get close." She remembered the last news she'd heard of Malcolm and his family; after the night at the tower they had moved South to the ruins of Los Angeles where there was a known colony. Rumours had been circulating for years that they were conducting their own, more advanced, research down there but Dreyfus never had the means of contact, until that night.  
The truth was - Aria didn't _want_ to go back to her old colony. She didn't want to look Elliott's parents in the eyes and tell them their only child was dead. She wouldn't need to do that for Blake, his mother had died years ago and his father was a barely conscious alcoholic. But she _would_ have to tell herself. She wasn't ready to face that yet, to face all the people she'd let down. She needed to contact her own parents though and let them know she was alive at least.

"I can go South to Los Angeles. If you lead me to the edge of the Redwood I can go alone from there. It's open road straight into the city."

At the mention of the South, something sparked in Maurice's eyes. He looked interested and then once again thoughtful. He nodded and tapped a finger on Aria's shoulder, prompting her. He led her back to her dimly-lit cavern and gently pushed her towards the make-shift bed.

 **'Sleep now. I'll leave food for when you wake.'**

"Why are you so nice to me?"

Maurice tilted his head and then to her surprise, smiled. She swore he had the softest pair of eyes she'd ever seen.

 **'Met boy once. Saw his drawings from the war. Saw what humans have been through. Similar losses. But he was still kind. So we should be too.'**

"Alex" Aria mused, remembering the boy a few years younger than her. He'd drawn her once - she'd been sat in the weapons depot reading whilst Blake had target practice, she had no idea Alex was there - when the other kids from the academy found out they teased him mercilessly. Going as far as to call him a creep and a stalker. It did unnerve her and she'd agreed herself that he was strange but she wished now that she'd stuck up for him, he had been heart-broken over the loss of his mother and as Maurice said, he was still kind. Besides, she was sat discussing ethics with a massive Orangutan and had a female chimp reminding her to wash her hair...so really what _was_ 'strange' in this new world?

After poking around at the odd array of foods Maurice had brought her: a cut of raw meat, various fruits and tree bark - she didn't expect him to know what humans eat or how to obtain it - her knee had really started to ache. Paracetamol was a thing of the past in her colony, the resources were used on much more important medicine so the only thing she could do was sleep on it. After a few more exchanges about the food, Maurice left and Aria was able to sleep for a few hours. She dreamed of the smell of lead and tobacco and nothing else at first. Then a tall figure, man-shaped, crouched before her, black, grinning. Growing larger and amidst it all, the faint beat of drums.

 _Aria._

She woke in the classic manner; no concept of time and space. Though she soon remembered where she was this time and not just because of the young female chimp that was peering into her face.

"Lake" she managed, propping up on her elbows "what are you doing here? What time is it?" She'd forgotten herself for a moment. Lake frowned at her clearly confused and revealed a brown metal bowl. Water was filled right up to the brim.

 **'From human camp. Good for holding things.'**

Aria chuckled a little at this and sat upright, picking up the bowl and lifting it to her lips.

"Thank you-" but before she could drink, Lake snatched the bowl from her face.

 **'No no no'** \- she repeated the sign, pinching her fingers together quickly - **'this water is for washing'**

Then Lake shifted closer and took hold of Aria's matted hair as wondered idly where her hair band had gone. _Lost forever in my bedroom let alone a forest._ Lake turned her palm up to Aria but unlike the gesture of submission, maintained eye contact. _Is she asking permission to wash my hair?!_

Aria remembered seeing the female chimps grooming each other that morning, but it definitely seemed too friendly for an ape and the human who'd been involved in the murder of two members of Lake's colony. One thing she'd noticed from their encounter earlier though was that the female chimp seemed fascinated by her hair. Does she just want to play with it or something? She looked at Lake apprehensively - "well do I really have a choice?"

 **'No no no' -** Lake signed with that same pant-hoot-laugh. Aria raised an eyebrow at the ape and swiped Lake's palm.

Aria's suspicions were confirmed as the young chimp began grooming her; it was quite long coming down to the small of her back when let down and every now and then she saw, in her peripheral vision, Lake holding the hair against her own fur - comparing.

 **'Softer than ape fur. Pretty.' -** Lake signed between stroking out the now wet mud. Aria wasn't sure how she'd ended up at ape camp with a female chimp washing her hair and complimenting her about it. When she'd first been captured by them, this was definitely the last thing she'd expected. _Pretty._ The word etched in Aria's mind. She'd never thought apes had a concept of physical appearance and, well, 'prettiness'. She supposed that explained the beads braided into Lake's fur. They were evolving at such a fast rate, would there come a time when it was impossible to tell whether there were apes in human suits or humans in ape suits. She wanted to gauge what other similarities they had.

"So who was that ape with Maurice earlier?" - Aria knew full well who it was and she turned her head enough to subtly monitor Lake's reaction.

 **'Caesar's son Blue Eyes.'** Lake signed a little too dismissively, leaning forward to remove a piece of bark from the girl's hair with her teeth. Aria pretended not to be freaked out.

"You don't get on?"

 **'Sometimes...he doesn't like humans much, doesn't trust you.'**

"So really he was being protective over you earlier" Aria urged. At this, Lake's eyes changed - the unmistakable flicker of light that told of butterflies and excitement and anticipation. She looked, for a second, so girly that Aria saw the prettiness in her too. _Astonishing. She's in love._

 **'He's just an idiot'  
**

 _Yep, definitely in love._

Aria remembered how that felt, she thought about her own butterflies that fluttered her tummy every time she saw Blake outside her classroom; waiting for her. She thought about it until Lake had finished and her hair was clean. She thought about it whilst Lake played with her hair and admired her work. She couldn't stop thinking about it when Lake had gone. Suddenly, cold and damp and alone in a far away land, it all hit her. _Fuck, fuck, fuck._ She didn't want to cry but her cheeks were wetter than her hair by that point and her soft whimpers had become sobs. Blake pulling her in for their first kiss, drunk and sloppy and entirely unromantic. Blake's boyish laugh the first time she told him she loved him, and then Blake blushing and reciting it back a lot quieter but twice as sincere. Blake squeezing her hand and crying into her throat as they stood over his mother's grave. Blake protecting her as his drunk father lashed out at the couple. Blake _dying._

Aria dropped to her side and pulled her knees up to her chest, for all of her bravery and cleverness, she'd been made weak. They hadn't been a couple for months, she knew he was a different person since his mum died. Since his father left to drink himself almost to death on board a submarine. Since the war. He was colder, had less consideration for life, she'd even hated him at one point and yet she still hoped that one day he'd find his way back to her. Aria cried harder than she had in a long time until she could cry no more. Her cheeks were still damp and every now and then she'd hiccup, but she was calmer for having given into her grief.

There was a grunt from the entrance of her cavern. Aria peered up from her arm. _Could they leave me alone for one minute._ But it wasn't Lake or Maurice. It was Caesar. He stood a little awkwardly; on two legs with his hand pressed against the side of the wall, like he was hesitant about coming in. He looked different than the Caesar she'd seen so far; tall and well built with open shoulders and strong arms and something unmistakably dominant in his stature. No, this time he looked uncomfortable. Had he heard her crying? Aria turned away from him, wiping her eyes with her wrists not wanting to appear weak in his presence.

"Caesar?" - she'd meant to sound strong and demanding but it came out as more of a meek whisper.

"Maurice says. You know. About. The South" he spoke in poorly formed English. Aria sniffed and tugged her damp hair behind her ears. _That's rich given he wouldn't answer any of my questions._ She decided, by virtue of Lake and Maurice's kindness, that she'd cooperate.

"I just need to get there. What do you need?"

As she turned around to face him they locked eyes for the third time that day. Although this time, his eyes changed completely; the icy glare he seemed to wear all day had melted, seemingly at the very sight of her own. She tilted her head up at him from her position on the floor, thin arms still folded around her knees and face flushed from sobbing. But he didn't say anything. It was as if the train of thought he'd been driving for months had suddenly grinded to a halt and for a split second he looked completely broken. Or maybe it was her who looked broken. She couldn't tell. His eyes, her eyes. For a split second, it was like looking into a mirror. Why was there such intensity every time they made eye contact? What was that? Why did he look so deep into her?

Caesar blinked a couple of times before casting his eyes away from the girl's. He turned so he was only half facing her.

"How are your injuries?"


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Thank you for the favs, follows and reviews, and for being my dear readers! The plot's going to pick up more from here and there's going to be a lot more drama coming. I'm really enjoying writing how the interactions between Aria and Caesar reflect this. I've got a lot planned but I'm also open to suggestions and generally anything you'd like to see - pop it in a review :) !**

* * *

 _"_ My leg is fine now and the shoulder's healing well I think, and my wrists..." her voice trailed off as she seemed to reflect the same memory he was cringing over. They'd killed her mate, bound her wrists tightly enough to tear her skin, his guard had near broken her knee cap and he'd taken away her most relied upon sense...but he'd done worse to the other humans he'd encountered. He thought that, after a certain point, he'd lost the capability to feel remorse. Maybe it was just that he hadn't had the consequences of his actions staring him in the face for this long. With eyes that inflated with raw emotion and sort of reminded him of the strangely delicious 'chocolate buttons' he'd been awarded by Will as a child. But obviously the giant ones. It had been impossible to carry her gaze, he'd heard her crying and waited for her to stop. He hadn't really **_cared -_** until he met her eyes. "they're a bit sore but OK."

"That's...good." Caesar struggled, it was so much harder to form words when he didn't even know what to _think._ He looked at her again - it wasn't a mistake this time - she didn't look so sad, but she was still looking at him strangely. He didn't want to launch straight into questioning her, he wanted to say something else first. But he wasn't sure what.

"Had to be cautious. In case you were soldier. Still should be cautious."

"Are you apologizing?"

Caesar could swear he heard humour in her voice. Her face seemed brighter somehow. He wasn't apologizing...because he'd do it again if it meant the safety of his people; and he'd been taught that 'sorry' meant you didn't do the same thing twice...but he didn't know how else to express his...remorse. Luckily Aria spoke again - "Well you don't have to be. I mean I see why you would...but, I don't mean any of you harm. I know there are others like me, back in my home, others that just want to survive. We're not all like the Colonel from the North...and you're not all like Koba."

She was really studying him now. What was she searching for? What did **_she_** need?

"Maybe if enough of us come here... I know it'll change so many people's opinions. If there's communication between our species-"

"and the men who make war?"

"You said yourself to show them you're not savages. If there's enough of us, they'll listen too. We can explain and-"

"Soldiers kill you too."

"Maybe. But maybe not."

He'd told her that was the reason he'd spared her and of course he was lying. Caesar, unfortunately, knew the truth. Whilst he did not understand humans fully, he knew of the darker side of man - he'd seen it first hand in one he'd considered a brother and even he himself had entertained such thoughts - that maybe there was only _one_ space at the top of the food chain. He was not plagued with such darkness himself but he understood dominance well. She clearly didn't conceal either within her. Caesar's face softened at her resolve and he shook his head - there were short times he felt like a human trapped in an ape's skin. But that wouldn't save him. He knew now that _that_ wouldn't save _anyone.  
_  
"Yes. You listen. They will not. More of them."

"You've just lost faith! You won't even try!" she accused, her hand gestures becoming animated to emphasise her frustration.

She was right of course but the way ** _she_** obviously hadn't was incredibly refreshing. A truce was impossible now but because she didn't know that, and because she'd never understand it was why he felt, for the first time in years, almost comfortable in the presence of a human. This human. He moved into the space more and crouched in front of her small form.

"Aria. What's in the South?"

So she told him, deciding not to push further. More city ruins but lots of barren land. He knew there was nothing but death for his colony North, he couldn't fight and protect the women and children at the same time. They needed to be moved as he and his elite fought off the rest of the soldiers there. Then, if they survived, they would go themselves. If the soldiers didn't follow. The damn girl kept asking about his interest in the South - he didn't trust her enough to be honest so he told her he wanted to be prepared for potential attacks from down there too. He shouldn't have had to answer her questions at all, she was his prisoner after all. So why did he feel the need to?

"Human asks lots of questions." he grunted, suddenly irritated by his compliance with her.

To his surprise, she _smiled._

Nothing extreme but enough that more light shone from her eyes than he'd thought possible. It had a strange effect on him - a pleasantness of sight. He knew beauty; he'd seen it at the birth of his sons. He'd never seen it on a face before. He tried to pick out the visual aspects that made it so: the contrast of her hair and eye colour maybe, the soft orange hues from the torches that added a youthful glow, or perhaps the delicateness of her mouth turning up? He wasn't sure why looking at her was like looking at the expanse of the sky on a clear night.

"because...I'm not comfortable not _knowing._ Ignorance is what's fueled the war - people feeling threatened by what they don't understand and rather than asking questions just rejecting it completely. I don't want to turn a blind eye to something I know nothing about and not care because I do. And if I die then I don't want it to be through weakness of being ignorant."

That was it. Because somehow, he could see the words in her eyes, heard them through merely looking at her. Because she looked like hope, and beauty and truth. For a second he wanted to keep her there - in _his_ colony. She was like light and he wanted to possess it and with her, brighten his solemn existence. He'd never dream of actually doing such a thing, she wanted to go back to her people - if he trapped such a creature there he might risk putting that light out. And there little of it left in the world.

"Human needs to go back to her people. To be safe. Teach children about peace and maybe one day..."

"You know...you don't sound very much like Koba to me...what you said earlier...I don't see it?"

 _C_ aesar grunted in response and sat back onto one of the rocks littering the cavern. He rested his strong arms on his knees and cast his glare away from the inquisitive girl. _Because he finally understood Koba, and to understand such a mind - you had to be like him._

"Koba only saw the bad side of humans, he couldn't see past his hatred. It became the center of his life and in the end he put his want for revenge over the lives of his family."

"Maurice said that __you__ suffered losses..."

Caesar's eyes snapped up at this and he could see the cogs turning in Aria's head as she tried to draw a conclusion from his words.

"Maurice had no right." he stated simply. The girl looked dismayed by his reaction.

"Don't be mad at him over it. I was just asking too many questions again and he answered." she pleaded, concern plastering her small face. She cared that Maurice might be scolded for his honesty with her. The ape king grunted again with exasperation and seconds of silence passed between them before he regarded her again -

"My...wife."

At this Aria seemed to recoil, her curious and demanding gaze becoming contorted with shock.

"Humans killed your wife...?" she whispered.

"Yes. After the battle on the tower. After I killed Koba. The soldiers from the North came from the water and they did not want to talk. I tried to show them mercy and they shot my wife and son."

She sucked in a breath and continued. "You lost a son too?"

"No" _Yes, yes he had._ "Blue Eyes was grazed, Cornelia took most of the damage..."

He could feel moisture building in his eyes and he gritted his teeth to stop the emotion from leaking out. He could talk about his pain with her. With a stranger of a completely different species. She expected no strength or leadership from him.

"and you killed the soldiers that did it?"

"I wasn't sure which were responsible, so I killed their whole unit. Because I let my hatred rule my life. I could not overcome it. And now the war is worse than ever."

He expected Aria to be frightened of him now, of his ruthlessness. Her eyes were leaking once again - silently this time and she wore a mask of horror. She moved and perhaps she was meaning to run, perhaps she should. Instead, she did something that rendered him speechless. She leaned up and pressed her soft mouth to Caesar's cheek. He stiffened instantly on contact. He'd never been kissed there by a human before. He hadn't been touched by anyone is such a long time. He found himself completely unable to move. The sweet scent of her damp hair engulfed him and he forgot himself for a second, almost shutting his eyes at the first contact he'd received in months.

"It's not your fault." she whispered, breaking the contact first, her face still inches from his. He looked at her, trapped once again in her stare.  
She launched herself way from him in one sudden movement, eyes wide and face turning a pink that matched her lips. Caesar could only stare blankly at the female human he had saved and was now trying to comfort him. _Weakness._ The ape forced his eyes to narrow at her. He had to speak, to eliminate what had just happened. To be void of emotion once more and thus regain his strength.

"Fault no longer-"

But he was cut off suddenly by the report of gunshots outside.

* * *

 **Well things might be taking a dark turn for our favourite ape colony soon. Please let me know what you think of this chapter! xx**


	6. Chapter 6

She didn't know what possessed her to do it. Maybe it was the total devastation and self-loathing, like nothing she'd seen before. The way, for a moment, he wasn't some fur covered renegade beast - he was a person. A heart-broken, angry, remorseful person. He'd trusted the wrong people and her heart bled for that fact.

 _It's not your fault._ _She whispered to Blake as her lips left his cheek and they stood six feet above his mother's bones. He looked down at her with cold eyes._

But it wasn't her fault either. Blake had killed himself. There was nothing she could have done.

Caesar looked down at her, his eyes a mixture of emotion. She jumped away in shock and scrambled backwards. A single tear rolled down her face. It's not **your** fault.

She wasn't paying attention when Caesar rose to his feet and started talking again. She didn't even hear the first round of gunshots. She just gazed up at Caesar as his face dropped in shock and then twisted in fury. She remembered thinking he looked terrifying.

 **'Stay here.'** he signed without looking at her, faster than he could talk. He was gone just as she earthed and the realization hit her. They were under attack.  
From who? They were miles into the Redwood and she didn't think anyone knew where. There weren't helicopters anymore. She followed Caesar to the entrance of her cavern dumbly. He was talking to Rocket now as more apes holding various weaponry rushed past, he signed frantically to Caesar.

 **'Three guards dead. Luca's down, got a bullet to the leg. Blue Eyes is with Cornelius. Maybe twenty soldiers'**

She could see Caesar's elbows jutting out as he replied but his back was to her. Then the two apes were gone.

So the attackers had taken down some of the gorilla guard - that explained why the gunshots sounded closer now. Aria repeated Caesar's order in her head and mulled over the potential consequences of not obeying. She didn't have a firearm and it would be easy for one of the apes to mistake her as a soldier and tear her apart. But what if they were from her colony? What if Blake and Elliott's bodies had been discovered by a search party...did they come here to rescue her? Did they care that much? She hadn't seen enough human vs ape to predict who would win, but if those really were people looking for _her,_ she couldn't let them be killed. She couldn't sit there and do nothing. Her determination carried her out of the chamber and through the stampede of females carrying their young to the deeper parts of the cave. It wasn't until she reached the exit to the courtyard and peaked her head around the stone wall, that she felt real fear.

There was a firefight going on between two groups, the largest of which seemed to be falling from the trees like coconuts - not so good at aiming as the others, who appeared to be a small band of human soldiers. Fire, so hot it looked blood red in the distance, lit up them up against the night sky. Aria knew immediately they weren't from her colony; the ones shooting above their cover had alpha-omega symbols painted on their helmets. Terrorists. Undoubtedly from the North. A partial barricade of wreckage guarded them from the various projectiles the apes sent. She spotted Caesar barking and signing orders before taking hold of a discarded machine gun himself and entering the fray.

The soldiers had cleared the first barricade into the ape village by simply killing the guards on duty. Aria could see, scattered on the Earth behind them, the lifeless bodies they'd already left in their wake. The humans spread out, away from the flames, and a couple were caught by the defender's bullets. But there were more ape bodies. One led not ten meters from her - it was the female bonobo she'd encountered before. The one that had lost her mate and now her own life. She mustn't have made it into the cave in time. But she wasn't dead yet - as Aria stared in shock at her bullet tattered body, Shiva's eyes flickered to Aria's. The look she weighed upon her made the girl's stomach drop to the very lowest of pits and the threads of her composure come undone. Shiva looked at her with accusing eyes full of despair and torment and hatred. It _**is**_ your fault.

Aria was almost relieved when the ape's eyes finally glazed over and she was freed. She choked back the bile that had risen in her throat and all but threw herself down the side of the rock. As soon as she hit the ground on knees and palms, she took off into trees to the right of the cave. She couldn't bear it. She wasn't strong enough. She didn't care as the hanging brambles nipped at her torso and her shoulder wound surged with pain. She needed to get away.

But it wasn't long before the burning sensation was too much and she had to stop and brace herself. She clutched onto a narrow tree trunk with both hands and leaned against it for support, panting. She realized, looking behind her, that she hadn't ran far at all. It just all felt like she was on speed. She had to go back. But she felt so dizzy...

Suddenly something fleshy slammed over her mouth and into her upper back. She let out a scream that was quickly muffled and she thrashed desperately against the mass.

"Shhh shhh Aria shut up!" an all too familiar voice hissed into her ear.

That was it - the moment that slayed. Because she recognised it instantly. Her body went limp and a meek whimper escaped her lips. The hands holding her gripped her shoulders and spun her around.

"You're dead." she whispered "No. No. Elliott. You're dead."

But that meant she was dead too. Maybe the next world would be better than the last. She smiled up at her angel friend weakly.

"Aria for Christ sake snap out of it!"

Elliott shook her until her eyes grew impossibly large and she lunged at him, both arms wrapping around his shoulders.

"Elliott" she cried into his neck. He was alive and she was too. She squeezed her eyes shut to appreciate the miracle moment her friend had been returned to her against all odds. All anguish from the past hour erased in one hug and she thought 'God. What have I ever done to deserve this?' But he answered with more gunshots - the report of war. Aria pushed away from Elliott and inspected him.

"How are you alive?" she demanded. Elliott began speaking at a hundred miles per hour.

"One of those things hit me til' I was unconscious. Guess he thought I was dead. I should have been. Broke several ribs and cracked my head. I tried to find you guys, I didn't want to leave the bodies...but you weren't there. I couldn't carry them you know. And. I found Pleoh and I left him with...I. Aria...Blake's-"

"I know."

The boy's ever kind, ocean eyes grew pale and he was about to speak again. But Aria couldn't hear it.

"Why are you with _them?"_ she interrupted quickly.

"Because they're the only people that can actually fight these things and I couldn't find your body, so I knew you'd been taken by them! They're not all alpha-omega. Well not most of them. Some of them are actual military from the old world. They have a base a few miles from here. The whole base it here now."

"Elliott listen to me, they know where their home is now so the apes will kill every single one of them. You have to run. NOW."

The boy blinked at her, his bushy eyebrows narrowing like angry caterpillars.

"WE have to run?!" he urged taking her hand in his bony one.

Aria looked back into the smoke just in time to see an orangutan get shot trying to drag its injured brother to safety. It screamed in pain as the bullet pierced its neck and collapsed on top of the frantic ape beneath. He was crying then, shaking the orang desperately. There was a tiny part of her that didn't want to go. What she'd seen so far was worth staying for, worth cultivating. It was a chance, she thought. Could she go back and turn a blind eye to the killing her species were doing here? If she couldn't keep her mouth shut would she be killed herself?

"Aria" Elliott pressed, drawing back her attention. "let's go!"

She blinked a couple of times before her senses flooded back. Of course she had to leave. They'd only end up killing her if she didn't, especially now. She was frightened too, but she couldn't admit that. So she let Elliott pull her through the underbrush. She realized that he couldn't run properly; he just stumbled through the forest with her in tow. As she stared blankly at his back she noticed the bandages wound tightly around his body just poking out the top of his t-shirt. He wasn't in combat gear, he probably shouldn't even be out of bed. The soldiers made him take them to the ape village without even giving him proper equipment. It showed her the value they placed on a life - any life. Elliott was perfectly expendable to them.

"Aria" a familiar voice cut through her senses and filled her with panic. It was Maurice. _Oh no._ In a moment of desperation, Aria leapt onto Elliott's back bringing him to the ground and drawing her knife from her boot.

"Aria what the-"

"Stay down! When I say run, you do it. He won't hurt me." she hissed in his ear and palmed the gash on his shoulder. He winced in pain. She didn't mean to hurt him, only to gather as much of his blood as possible. As Maurice was approaching, she had her back to him so he didn't see when she smeared the blood across her knife and Elliott's throat.

"It's OK Maurice, I got the son of a bitch." she stated bluntly, climbing off Elliott's chest.

Maurice stared at her for a moment with what she almost thought to be disappointment but then his beady eyes landed on Elliott. He looked suspicious as hell and Aria bit her lip. Five seconds felt like an hour before the orang nodded and wrapped his arm around Aria's shoulder in a gesture that told her to 'come away'. She complied but before they could move, an explosion shook the ground beneath them. Aria stumbled into Maurice's side and gripped onto his fur. Panic stricken, she craned her head in the direction of her friend.

"RUN!"

She expected her scream to have more of an impact than just Elliott scrambling to his feet and taking off. She thought maybe she'd get a head splitting roar from Maurice and she might have to tackle him to stop him chasing the boy. Maybe he'd beat the crap out of her after for tricking him. Instead, he just stood there staring at her observantly.

 **'Clever girl. Making him look dead.'**

Aria just stared in disbelief, her mouth popping open into the classic 'o'. Had he really just praised her for deceiving him? It was only then that she'd noticed the gunfire and hooting had ceased. She felt his heavy arm around her again, pulling her in the direction of the cave. The explosion wouldn't have come from the apes so surely they hadn't won?! But the orang seemed too calm.

"Maurice-" she gasped, but he raised his eyebrows and made the bubbling noise again, to coax her into following. The way they had treated her, so foreign from how she'd seen prisoners of war treated by her own people, made it easy to forget she actually was one. She followed Maurice back to center of the carnage. The memory of anguish in Elliott's eyes as he bolted upright and realized he would have to leave her behind, and then he did. She wouldn't hold it against him; he was young for his age and hadn't seen nearly as much war as her. He was allowed to be ruled by fear. Besides, someone had to make it out alive.

Aria blinked through the dust and slight bits of debris floating around the clearing. The grenade had blown apart one of the boulders leading up to the cave but it seemed the attack had backfired; among the rubble and ape bodies were those of human soldiers. At least eight of them had been taken out by pieces of the rock. _Idiots._ The air was stale with the smell of blood and burning wood, though the fire had already been put out. She stumbled when she saw Caesar; little chunks of flesh matted the fur on his back as he pushed through the newly formed crowd of apes. He looked like a monster and yet he hadn't done the killing. Maybe that was problem. Maurice had slipped away from her side and she spotted him among the injured, nursing them, he didn't seem to care much for whatever was going on where Caesar was. By the time she looked back he'd disappeared to the front of the crowd. What were they looking at?

"NO" - his gravelly voice louder than the pant-hoots and gibbers. Aria's feet subconsciously began carrying her, wide-eyed, towards the noise. Because it sounded more like an answer to a question than anything else. The apes were hooting in agreement so who was he talking to? None of them seemed to notice as she emerged through the smoke.

"Please PLEASE" a female voice screamed hysterically. Aria's face warped with distress and she ran into the crowd of apes, clambering through so fast and so desperately that they didn't react fast enough to stop her. The painted faces of three surviving soldiers came into view, two men maybe early thirties and a woman that looked almost the same age, all with spears digging into their backs - the apes behind them desperate to make the plunge through their torsos. Their only hope towering over them with an almost feral glint in his green eyes. Aria didn't stop running until she'd thrown herself between the two parties.

"WAIT. Wait." she cried, skidding in front of the terrified woman and turning back to Caesar with her palms up. "wait."

Caesar stared down at her, his leathery face harder than she'd seen before.

"Move." he ordered, simply. Aria didn't know how to subdue the situation. She wasn't sure the remaining soldiers even deserved that. She just knew that _she_ was the reason Elliott had brought them here, and she couldn't bear to watch another person die because of her.

"Caesar. I know what they've done is disgusting - it's unforgivable. But. This isn't going to fix anything. What matters is how YOU react now. You're capable of showing mercy."

Caesar's eyes shifted menacingly back to the female soldier.

"You came here. You thought you were going to kill all apes. You fail so now you ask me for mercy. Why should I show mercy, what good will come of that for ape?"

"because..." - and she was really struggling for words because deep down she knew the alpha-omega were as about as evil as they come. Was she being selfish because she knew the guilt would be hers? Or could sparing these soldiers show the side to apes they'd never experienced before? The woman reminded Aria of when _she_ had nearly suffered the same fate at the hands of Caesar. - "'because the merciful man does good for his own soul!"

"He's not a man little girl, he's a filfthy ape!" one of the soldiers spat earning a sharp blow to the face from Rocket.

"and what's the difference?!" Aria pleaded still looking into Caesar's dark eyes. "Mercy? Life is life!"

Caesar blinked at her choice of words. The female soldier scoffed but just as her captor went to strike her too - Caesar brought his hand up. The ape behind her faltered and pulled the spearhead back. Aria squinted a little as the first rays of morning sun emerged opposite her. It lit up her strained face and danced across the pale skin there, slowly waltzing down across her neck and tattered clothing. He stared at her hard though the depth inside them told her she was getting through. Aria relaxed slightly and stepped back, unbeknownst to her, a little _too_ close to the female soldier.

With that the soldier grabbed a pistol from the back of her boot and shot the ape behind her. In one skillful movement, so fast Aria didn't have time to react, she grabbed the girl around the shoulders and dragged her back. Aria gasped as she felt the cool barrel bump against her throat.

"Free us or I kill her!." she growled into the girl's hair. Aria was being held at gunpoint by the very woman she'd been so inclined to save. She thought she'd seen real fear in her eyes, real regret. She'd wanted to get through so badly. And now she was being punished for it. She trembled under the woman's arm, she'd been anticipating an attack from the apes - not her own military. The apes around Caesar began stalking towards them, barking furiously - she assumed that wasn't for her but the fact that the soldier had acted out like that.

 **'No honour.'** Rocket signed in anger. She doubted the soldiers understood, they 'purged the Earth' of the infected, not caring that the surviving population were immune, so there was no point in learning to communicate with them. She couldn't believe her own kind were less willing to cooperate than the apes. Aria was jerked harshly and the metal pressed deeper into her skin.

"I mean it! I'll pop the bitch's head like a grape."

All Aria could do was search Caesar's cold eyes.

"Kill her." he grunted and the apes continued moving towards them. "I do not care. She is prisoner."

The woman cocked her gun. Caesar did not flinch. He just stared with the same blank facial expression.

The soldier holding her slacked her grip as her eyes darted around, frantically deciding what to do, Aria used the opportunity to drive her elbow back into her stomach. She recoiled and Aria threw her forward, landing hard on her chest and quickly bracing herself as the stampede of apes lunged forward past her head. She gritted her teeth at the sound of the humans' screams as they were torn limb from limb. Through the mass of black fur and feet, she could just make out Caesar, his eyes cast down on her crumpled form, expression cold and stern. What had she expected? That after one conversation he might actually understand her? Stop seeing her as an enemy? She'd sat there with the ape leader, he'd opened up to her, she felt sorry for him. She felt too much. She'd thought for one fleeting moment that she'd made a connection. She was wrong.

She lay there with her cheek pressed to the ground for a while, listening to the bellows and roars as the apes killed their attackers who ironically had also been _her_ attackers and though she was surrounded, she was completely and utterly alone.


	7. Chapter 7

Somewhere within the depth of a vast cave called 'home', an infantile chimp clung to the fur of an older female. Things weren't as they should be; he pined for the warmth and gentle drumming of his mother's heart against his ear, singing her love for him with every beat - a state of comfort that would never return to him. But this would have to do. When familiar sounding footsteps finally broke the silence, he poked his head above Lake's arm.

 **'Apes. Kill. Humans. Caesar want talk.'**

Cornelius watched as Ray climbed down into the safe room and began signing to his older brother. He was sure Ray had signed more words but he was limited in his understanding of sign language, though advanced among the others his age. His brother, who had been standing guard of the women and children, barked in a satisfied manner. Whilst Cornelius fixated, not on Ray's words, but on the tiny specks of ash blackening the orange fur of his shoulders. It reminded him of something he'd seen in Maurice's book - the one with all the pictures of colourful humans. He remembered pointing madly at the cartoon man with a black cape. It was an exciting character, though he liked the mad scientist much more. He was pulled from his imagination when he caught sight of Blue Eyes leaving. The young chimp wriggled frantically out of Lake's soft arms and clambered onto his brother's back. Blue Eyes stopped and pulled his little brother around to face him.

' **Not safe'** he signed with one hand as big as Cornelius's face.

 **'Safest with Blue Eyes'** the little chimp signed back. He had been frightened, he still was but the bad humans were gone weren't they? So he could let the curious side, however small and fettered it may be now, take over...he also wanted to see that his father was safe. Besides he did always feel safest of all with his big brother. It was clear Blue Eyes agreed from the defeated look in his eyes.

 **'Stay on my back smart-ass'**

Cornelius gibbered in fake annoyance - if he was using his nickname for him then it meant he'd won. So the young chimp latched onto his older brother's shoulders and let him carry him through the cave. He found it surprisingly quiet; he usually saw everyone celebrating after victory, albeit not for long on account of his father sending him to bed - he never saw Caesar celebrating. He never saw much of his father at all these days. But this time he saw nobody celebrating. The only noise coming into hearing range was the quiet chattering of who he recognized to be Hazel and Maurice. As they climbed up to the main entrance of the cave, Cornelius buried his face in his brother's fur. The iron-y, all-too-familiar smell of blood warning him of horror he wished he could be brave about. He could tell from his brother's movements that he was communicating with the two apes before them. He wanted to know what they were saying - what was going on but he was too frightened of what else he might see. Cornelius gritted his little teeth in frustration; he was the son of Caesar...he wasn't supposed to be scared. Blue Eyes had reassured him in the past that he was scared because he was so smart, that other baby chimps would get themselves into trouble for not being scared enough. But they both knew the real reason he feared the world so much. Deciding to try and be brave, Cornelius slowly peeked through one eye. The sight wasn't as bad as he thought. Three apes were being tended to by Maurice and Hazel - their injuries relatively minor. But what he saw from Maurice made him quickly lock his eyes shut once more.

 **'Down there. Dead. Moved. Waterfall. Ray tell families.'** \- the orang was pointing to where Cornelius assumed the bodies of the dead were being handled - a sight he'd seen is his sleep for months and did not wish to see awake.

'Father' he gibbered apishly into his brother's ear.

'We'll find him now. Close your eyes and keep them shut until I say so OK.'

* * *

Blue Eyes bared his teeth when he spotted the bodies being dragged to the right of the cave entrance. His keen eyes counted approximately fourteen...if he added together all the parts. He hadn't thought it to be this bad; he hadn't heard the explosion or the firefight. They hadn't had an attack in their new home yet - he knew the stench of death would seep into the earth and ruin any hope he had of settling in there. When the last body came into view, number fifteen, his heart unwillingly wrenched. It was Lake's cousin, Bolt. He knew she would cry for him...an image that didn't sit well with Blue eyes at all.

He remembered worriedly that Cornelius was on his back and checked over his shoulder to make sure the young ape still had his eyes shut. Good. Finally, as they entered the clearing, Blue Eyes spotted their father. He was stood rigidly over an uncommonly large bonfire. Blue Eyes knew instantly who that was for. He was glad he wouldn't have to look at _their_ bodies. Cornelius climbed over his shoulder and ran towards their father. He was gathered up quickly into the ape's arms and hid his face in Caesar's chest. An unwelcome pang of jealousy coursed through Blue Eyes; sometimes he wished he could be the little chimp hiding away from the world in the safety of his father's arms. But he also felt sorry for Cornelius; sorry for the disappointment he'd feel when he realized that his father could not protect him. Caesar glared down at his oldest son.

"Why did you bring him here?" he demanded sternly causing Cornelius to tremble and break free from his father's hold.

' **Didn't know how bad it was. Thought it was just girl prisoner attacking with gun. Cornelius is safe wherever I am.'**

Caesar frowned and continued to bare down on his son, flattening any rebellion that might be stirring in Blue Eyes. Eventually Blue Eyes' natural instincts forced him to submit to his father's glare and he gave in.

' **I'll take him back to Lake.'**

But as he went to reach for his brother he found Cornelius had moved. When his panic stricken eyes found him, he was crouched a few feet from Blue Eyes and seemed to be staring cautiously at something. Blue Eyes followed his brother's curious eyes until he found the object of interest. There, beneath the boulders, led the human girl he'd been mentally accusing. She looked different than he'd remembered from their first meeting; the pale hair that sprouted from only one part of her body cascading around her back, sleeker, thinner and dark saucers around her eyeballs. How long had she been there? If it wasn't her that had attacked then why was she even there? Unless she'd somehow lured the soldiers here. She had to be to blame somehow.

Without a word, Blue Eyes jumped down onto the dirt and grabbed the girl's arm. She didn't seem to protest as he dragged her upright and began tugging her back towards his father. He noticed idly how thin her upper arm was in his grasp...why did humans insist on waging war when they were so breakable?

Blue Eyes kept his tight hold but thrust her forward when they reached his father, almost presenting her to him. Cornelius squeaked and tugged on his leg, looking oddly discontented by Blue Eyes actions. He wished he could be like Cornelius. He wished he could be naive.

"Human girl bring soldiers?" he managed, eyes snapping at the doll-like female in his wake. He couldn't help but notice that her eyes looked blank, uncommon for a human - there was just nothing in them. Wasn't she even going to try to fight back?

Caesar's eyes flashed with something that was unreadable and annoying to Blue Eyes, and then they narrowed and landed on the girl.

"Aria is not. To. Blame. For this." he stated. Blue Eyes wasn't expecting this response from such an angry glare, apparently she wasn't either because her head shot up and she stared at his father.

 **'But humans never came here until she came. She had to be involved.'**

"She had been with us. Had no contact with others."

' **Then why human out here?'**

Caesar pursed his lips, regarding her carefully. "To stop me killing others."

This annoyed Blue Eyes. **'So she is with them'.** She should be treated the same.

"No. She defended and trusted them to do the right thing because they are human. And she hopes for goodness in all humans. I've made the same mistake."

Blue Eyes was so angry at his father for so many reasons that every time he spoke it seemed to spark off some bitterness and resentment. He was angry that his father had trusted the killer, Koba. The killer that had thrown his best friend, Ash, over the human building and to his death. The killer that had lead the apes to war in Caesar's absence that ultimately resulted in the death of his mother. He was angry that when his father killed Koba and then eventually the human soldiers who'd shot Cornelia, he didn't feel better. He knew who was really to blame. And even though deep down there was still some innate love for his father, he hated having to look at him every day. So when Caesar pointed out that 'Aria' had only made the same mistake _he_ had made, it didn't settle any of his unease. He knew the storm that came with every one of Caesar's mistakes.

At that moment, Maurice interjected and offered his hairy arm as a ramp for Cornelius.

 **'You need to talk to your son yes? I'll take Cornelius.'**

"Thank you, Maurice." Caesar nodded.

Why? Was his father going to school him too now? It wasn't as if he felt the human to be a threat - she was one smaller than average human with no weapons in a village ruled by apes. Her presence bothered him though, he didn't want to make a judgment on a species based on individuals, not after Koba, but _want_ was rarely reality.

 **'I'll take girl too. Put her back in cave. Some apes won't like the sight of her.'**

With that Maurice waggled one finger in front of the human's disconcerted face, drawing out some focus from her.

"Aria. Follow." he ordered. Blue Eyes let go of the human's arm and shook his head as the girl rose to her feet behind Maurice, sparing one last glance at Caesar before following. Why was she so interested in his father? She looked a him like Lake looked at those blobby insects, the ones that somehow end their life as a colourful, fluttering creatures with wings. He instantly regretted the comparison, but he'd been doing that a lot with Lake these days. What he liked even less was how his father looked at the girl in exactly the same manner.

 **'Human is not a threat son.'** Caesar signed **'but her being here is. Others may look for her and the bodies of these soldiers. I'm going to send her South tomorrow'**

 **'How do you know she won't bring soldiers in the South here?'**

Caesar flicked his finger in a way that meant 'eyes covered'. Blue Eyes chuffed.

 **'She won't make it.'**

 **'I know. So you're going with her.'** Blue eyes' stomach dropped and he instantly raised up in protest. WHAT. **'You, Rocket and Ray.'**

He couldn't seriously be sending him away at a time like this to play body-guard to some human he didn't even know. She hadn't directly hurt anyone but he didn't care whether she lived or died. He signed 'what' repeatedly at his father, face heating up with anger.

 **'Malcolm told us about the South, don't you remember? Only one human colony we know of. Mostly empty land. You said yourself that we need to branch out and find somewhere further from the soldiers North. I must know what is down there and we must find safety. Now more than ever. It won't be long before humans find us again. How long can we keep fighting them?'**

The young heir knew all of this. He had actually warmed to Malcolm after he'd learned how he'd defended the apes during the battle on the tower and respected everything the man had to say. He accepted that humans like Malcolm were incredibly rare. What angered him was that his father was insistent on sending _him._ He wasn't a baby anymore, he wanted to stay and fight for the little family he had left.

 **'You think I am not strong enough to fight here'** Blue Eyes accused.

 **'No. You are too smart.'** Blue Eyes knew his father meant this to empower him but he knew really that the only reason he and Cornelius were so 'smart' was because they were _his_ sons. It wasn't really an achievement, though he liked Cornelius to feel it was. **'Rocket is strong and Ray has keen eyes, but you are smart. And I need smart to go and find us a new home. One that will be sufficient and long-lasting. So you will go, first to the edge of the human home - see Aria safe. Then you will know where it is and you can move on from there and find our future.'**

The young chimp knew that he didn't have a choice on the matter, once Caesar had made up his mind there was no shifting it. He felt a hand on his shoulder, the one littered with scars he'd been given a lifetime ago. He turned to see his father's old friend.

 **'When you were a little thing you made my brain explode trying to find you, always running off to new places. Never content with where you were.'** Rocket signed laughing **'This is right Blue Eyes. You were made for this.'**

The young heir was defeated by the few seconds of fathering Rocket gave him that Caesar was completely incapable of. He was a good father once, Blue Eyes knew that much. Now he was only a good military commander. And even then he had his weaknesses.

 **'Come on. Let's talk to Ray.'** Rocket signed before gently pushing his friend's son towards the cave.

Caesar watched after the pair; his best friend and his oldest son. The pain in his eyes not visible to either of them.

* * *

 **Oh God this chapter was awful sorry guys. Hope ya'll got some enjoyment from it though! Should have the next chapter up within the next few days :) As usual: please review, like and follow for update notifications.  
**


	8. Chapter 8

Aria walked her fingers up the side of the free rock, counting each step. It was big enough to hide her from view, should any mourning apes find their way into the part of the cave Maurice had left her in. He'd been gone for almost twenty minutes now. She knew he had to take Caesar's little son back to Lake and Tinker, whoever that was, and probably console the rest of the families. He was right to leave her behind; her presence would have been too provocative when telling the women 'sorry your husbands have been murdered by humans'... and she'd surely be attacked, though she would most-likely welcome it. It was, after all, technically her fault. After seeing the tide of emotion the apes were capable of, she never wanted to be responsible for that level of devastation again. But there she was. No wonder Caesar had looked at her with such cold, cruel eyes. She huffed a little - she never _asked_ Caesar to rescue her and bring her back to his home. The memory of the lieutenant she'd tried to save throttling her replayed behind her eyelids and she had to remind herself to breathe and count steps again. Humans and apes make mistakes. She didn't want to think about hers, didn't want to consider that if the soldiers had no respect for the lives of their own, they certainly wouldn't care about those of the apes. She knew deep down that even the soldiers at her colony, trained by the North, probably wouldn't give two shits about their lives no matter how 'human' they appeared to be. The infected were human and they still murdered them. She had been an idiot and there was no excuse for it. She grinded her teeth in anger and began swinging her clenched fists into the rock. It chipped away at the skin on her knuckles with every blow but she didn't care.

By the time Maurice got back to her, she'd collapsed forward against the rock, hiding the small traces of blood she'd left.

"There has to be a way out of this war" she breathed. The old orang looked at her a little sadly, she seemed to be talking more to herself than him.

 **'Humans betrayed you.'** he signed quietly.

Aria scoffed at this. "I don't know why I'm surprised. I just thought from everything I'd heard about you lot...and you've listened. So I thought maybe they...but all I did was get another one of you killed."  
Maurice looked down at the broken skin on her knuckles and tapped his chin. She sounded distressed and he could tell she was angry at herself.

 **'Good and bad in all species' -** the established look on Maurice's face told her this was an observation he'd made recently and thought a lot about - **'Caesar hoped to find good in Koba, found none, lots of apes died. Caesar blame himself. Blue Eyes blame Caesar. But I know that hope is future. Hope is how Caesar freed us. Don't hate yourself, Aria, for having hope. Without hope there is no new world, and I have to believe that there will be.'**

That's why he'd been so kind to her. They thought the same way. The old soul of a philosopher in the body of an orangutan. Yes, she definitely liked Maurice a lot more than most humans she'd encountered recently.

There was a bellow from one of the huts near the cave entrance. It sounded like a straggled cry of pain from something very big and probably dangerous. She started forward but Maurice held her back.

 **'Stay. It's Luca. He was shot.'**

One of the injured apes Rocket had mentioned. How did they deal with bullet wounds?

"What are you going to do?" she asked. Maurice just looked at her, confused at her question. "I mean what do you usually do when someone's been shot?"

 **'Stop pain. Stay with Luca until he is gone.'**

Aria's eyes widened - they were just going to let it happen?! Of course it made sense; they were wild things that knew how to heal with wild things but bullets were from a man-made world. Maurice made towards the hut when Aria shouted.

"Shrapnel!" the orang looked over his shoulder at her, she spoke again, quieter this time. "If it's just shrapnel he might live...the main risk will be Gangrene."

 **'Can do nothing about that.'** Maurice signed sadly before disappearing from the cavern.

But she could. In all of the chaos she'd forgotten about her backpack! She wasn't as well-equipped as she perhaps should have been but she was sure she'd packed a decent medical kit that would suffice. Either way, she had to do something. He was shot because of _her._ If she didn't, she'd have cost Caesar one more member of his colony. She sprung up, grabbing her backpack and running towards the hut. There were apes still casting about in the smoke, either in confusion or looking for things, they didn't seem to notice her. However, when she reached the entrance of the hut and could just see the large gorilla writhing inside, a hand grabbed her shoulder.

"Human not do as she's told!" The words she'd heard from Caesar the previous morning sounded entirely different lunging out of Grey's mouth; they snapped off his tongue and bit at her face - far more unkind.

"Please let me help him!" she shouted resisting against his pull. "Maurice!"

The orangutan looked up from his position next to Luca and sighed.

"Please Maurice. I have medical equipment."

He eyed the bag clutched in her hand and to her relief, gestured for her to come inside. Grey released her with his hand but not his eyes, he watched every move she made.

Aria studied the injured gorilla carefully, shifting her perspective to see an anatomy not a person. He was sweating - that wasn't a good sign, but the blood on his leg wasn't the masses she'd expected. So it was either clogging a blood vessel or a surface wound. That'd be why he hadn't bled out yet.

She knelt down cautiously next to the giant ape, well aware that one flailing hit from him could knock the lights out of her.

"Luca" she soothed, addressing him as she would a hurt child. His breathing slowed and he opened his eyes at her voice. She noticed idly that the large creature didn't have eyes that matched its frightening form. **'I'm going to help you. But you're going to have to stay still and let me touch you.'**

Luca watched her perform sign language to him and grunted in pain again. She watched hopefully as his eyes darted around the room to Maurice and Hazel before finally resting on her again. He chuffed a little air and she took that as an 'OK'. Well she didn't really care at this point, nothing would stop her from helping him now. She pulled the medical kit from her bag, taking out the morphine sulfate solution. She hesitated; she only had one bottle. _I have to do something, I have to save someone._ With a deep intake of breath, Aria allowed her mind to lock on and she dispensed the solution through the oral syringe.

"For the pain." she stated mechanically as Luca took the morphine and she began examining him closer.

"OK his pulse is relatively normal and I don't see much swelling so I don't think we're dealing with internal bleeding here." she reeled off the words like she was tapping them into a computer before taking her fingers and applying pressure to the middle of the bend between his leg and hip. She held him like this until she felt his pulse stop momentarily. As soon as the bleeding slowed she reached for her medical tweezers and began softly opening the wound. Luca winced and she saw, in her peripheral vision, Hazel advance.

"It's OK" she raised up her bloodied hand "I'm going to try to remove the bullet."

But she could only find tiny pieces of shrapnel near the surface. If there were any more they were too deep and too dangerous to try to remove. She remembered how Blake had lived three years just fine with shrapnel in his body. So she decided to clean and splint the leg in case of bone fracture. Finally, when she was up to her forearms in blood and Luca was sleeping, she turned to her observers. It would usually have been difficult to read their faces from this distance and in the low light but the two were evidently awe-struck. Aria rinsed off the equipment with the last of her water and reminded herself to sterilize it above the fire later. Neither of the apes said a word as she slung the bag over her shoulder and got up. She then realized she had a third observer, standing in the entrance of the hut. It was Caesar, and he he wore an expression that told her he too was impressed. She remembered Caesar had defended her to his son earlier, but she still felt bad looking at him...and a little stupid. She should have just stayed inside like he'd told her too...but then Elliott might have been killed.

"I'll come back and change his dressing tonight, I'm going to have to keep applying the antibiotics so that the wound doesn't get infected."

He looked at her strongly as she stood before him and then his gaze dropped to her neck and arms. It was only then that she realized the state she was in. Muddied and bloodied in clothing that was all but torn to pieces. She felt a bit uncomfortable as his eyes roamed over her bare skin, but she knew all he saw was dirt.

"I'd like to go down to the river and get clean myself if that's OK..." she mumbled crossing her arms over her bare abdomen. Caesar's face softened for the first time that day and whilst he didn't seem keen to appear all that friendly, his voice suggested otherwise.

"Come. I will take you to where apes bathe." he spoke like she didn't have an option. As she followed him out of the hut, she felt Maurice's soft hand plant on her back.

"Thank. You. Aria."

She nodded once and smiled, then left the hut with the ape leader.

She walked a few meters behind Caesar and after a little while, they were beneath the village - where the waters were calm. She'd heard the Redwood mentioned so many times, in only one context - beware...she hadn't imagined that it could be so beautiful. It was the perfect picture of tranquility, no sound beyond that of the crystal waters collapsing gently on the rocks as they stippled their way between two forests. Aria hummed at the sight of it and slipped past Caesar, completely enamoured. It was in rare moments like this that she agreed with Augustine; all of nature was good. But it wasn't supremely and immutably good. The good in nature could be diminished like a fresh rugby shirt. All things were corruptible but no matter how much its good is diminished, something must remain of its original nature as long as it exists at all. She was glad Caesar had brought her here and in turn, reminded her of that fact.

She looked back at him, he seemed to have been watching her closely as she took in the waterfall. Every now and then his eyes would shift from her to the water, and then back again, almost like he was comparing. _Confusing ape._

"You saved Luca. My friend for many years...thank you."

She smiled and turned fully to face him. "You're welcome. He just needs to rest now."

"How did you get him so calm? Ape never calm after being shot."

"Morphine." she shrugged.

"Morphine..." he repeated, rolling the word off his tongue, experimenting with the new sound. She understood why none of them had heard of morphine...she doubted their pain was a priority back as Gen-Sys.

"It's...medicine. It kills pain by stopping nerves carrying pain impulses to the brain. So you don't feel it."

At this his face changed, his hard facade gone and his mind racing. All at once he looked desperate and oddly vulnerable, the newness of the sight made her uneasy.

"All. Pain...?" he managed, his words choppier than usual. But she knew exactly what he meant.

"No." she whispered, subconsciously stepping towards him "only physical pain."

She noticed his hand had found its way to his chest, he clenched it into a fist and tore it away. He looked angry at himself.

"Because. It. Is. Different." he stated with a gravelly voice. Aria couldn't do anything but stare at him, mouth hanging open slightly but not so much in shock, but concern. She didn't know how to answer that. It _was_ different. But it _felt_ physical sometimes. Sometimes it hurt more than any physical pain ever could. Because you felt it where his hand had been, but also in something immaterial, the very essence of your being, your soul.

"I only had one bottle anyway."

He looked surprised by this and his eyes snapped up at hers.

"Why did you give it to Luca?"

Because she was completely and utterly ruled by her emotions and it really, _really_ sucked.

"Because I wasn't sure that I _could_ save him. Even if I couldn't, at least he wouldn't have suffered..."

"You feel much. You are...kind-hearted." he affirmed in a low and strained voice. Aria couldn't help but smile at this. She couldn't help but smile over the fact that the leader of the apes was fond of her, even just a little. Eight year old Aria who cheered for the freedom of the apes would be grinning from ear to ear. She was about to go further towards the waterfall but stopped herself, looking over her shoulder at Caesar.

"You are too."

He didn't respond to that, he just followed her up onto the craggy rocks that protected the gentle waters. It would be too deep to stand in near the waterfall but she could catch the water up on the rocks and shower off there.

"Clean yourself. I'll guard you here." he stated plainly, reminding her of his presence behind her. _Oh this is going to be awkward. Well...no it shouldn't be. He's an animal. Well, a non-human animal. He won't care at all..._ But she still didn't feel comfortable and when she turned to him again she was a little sheepish, trying to figure out how to make him understand.

"I have to take my clothes off..."she mumbled cringing. But as soon as she said it something flashed in Caesar's eyes - some sharp realization she hadn't expected to see so quickly and he sat down on the edge of the rock with his back to her. _Well shit that was easy...he does have a concept of nakedness then?_ She realized that was a weird thing for her to be curious about and dropped the thought.

The cool water felt good on her mucky exterior and it wasn't long before the paleness of her skin returned to view. She watched as water pulled the gorilla's blood from her skin and took it away beneath the current. _Purifier._

"When we go back to the village you are to prepare for leave for the south." Caesar ordered from behind her. She pushed her soaked hair back off her face and turned her eyes to his broad back.

"What will _**you**_ do now?" she asked, curious about his plan of action.

"We are safe for the moment. If the colonel knew where ape home he would have sent more soldiers. Must have been accident. But he will find us eventually, which is why I'm sending my son and second in command with you. For now, injured apes rest and we plan. Every human that found us today is dead...that gives us some time."

Aria felt like someone had knocked the breath out of her. _Every human except one._ _No. No._ They had to prepare _now._ She realized in horror that Elliott might not go to their colony, he might go straight to colonel. To save her. Once again it would be her fault. She hadn't thought of that when she was with him, she was too busy trying to keep him alive. At what consequence?

How was she going to tell Caesar that there was one human from today who was probably on his way to the colonel right _now?_

Distracted, she forgot the downpour from above for a moment and it felt like the water had grown fingers that stuck down her throat and began choking her. She coughed out the liquid and blinked it furiously from her eyes. _Corrupter._

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 **Well I like my chapters nice and angsty. How do you guys feel about slow-burn fics BTW? This is my first fanfiction and whilst I love reading slow-burns best, I'd like to know what my readers prefer? xx  
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	9. Chapter 9

Aria needed to make a decision and fast. She needed to choose between potentially endangering her friend or risk another large scale ape-slaughter? Could she stop Caesar from sending out a search party to kill Elliott before he reached the colonel? Perhaps they would only detain Elliott as they had done her. She wanted so badly to take that leap of faith. She knew now that if the situation were reversed the human army would hunt and kill him, it would be justified as a preventative measure - nothing personal. But they were the ape army, and she _had_ to believe they were different; so far they'd treated her better than most humans had. Aria stepped out from under the waterfall and retrieved the jumper from her backpack, she pulled the dark material over her wet body until it was covering almost to her mid-thigh and then stepped into her shorts. Without a word to suggest she was finished, she sat down on the edge of the rock next to Caesar and wrung her hair out over the edge. She needed to know if it was more than strategy and more than his grief. Was he truly capable of caring for humans?

"Caesar why haven't you just killed me?" she spoke a little more than a whisper, half hoping he hadn't heard as she fiddled with the cuffs of her sleeves.

"Why would I?" he asked plainly, without reaction. _Because all I've done is get your tribe murdered?_

"I'm more trouble to you than I'm worth. And I'm just a prisoner...my life doesn't mean anything." she tried.

Caesar turned his head this time and considered her, recognition in his eyes. She didn't return it; she felt embarrassed at her words almost sounding hurt...she hadn't meant them to. She wasn't hurt. Not really. _He didn't hurt you. You want to communicate with him as you would a human man and in the human world you'd be a stranger to him._ She kept her eyes glued to her sleeves as she waited for him to speak.

"I couldn't let them go." - he was still observing her closely, she was constantly searching for emotion in him and yet most humans seemed to prefer deliberately rejecting the idea. - "They would have killed you for that if they thought I cared for your life."

"Do you?"

She looked at him this time, gauging his reaction. She remembered Maurice's words. The young Caesar had hope and vision and with it he'd built a better life for his apes, but the new world had battered it out of him and now he was just the echo of the good person he once was. Aria wished she could meet that person, the world needed that person. It dawned on her that, more than anything, she wanted the 'better world' to stand a chance...if she wanted to help it, she'd need to help Caesar.  
He scratched his chest with one large hand and his long mouth turned up into what she could only describe, to her surprise, as a smirk.

" _Life is life._ " he repeated her words from earlier with such gravity it took her back slightly.

That was enough for her.

She confessed to him her coherence with Elliott that morning and he didn't respond. At first he looked confused, and then started at her words. He was up immediately and moving down the rocks on knuckles, hooting. He'd only ever been upright and his posture so oddly human in her presence than she'd forgotten he could run as a chimpanzee.

"Wait, Caesar!" she yelled as she tried to follow him down the rocks but slipped on the their wetness. She would struggle to keep up on the ground but he'd already began climbing the tall trees that lead back up to the village.

"Damn it!" she hissed as she swung her bag over her back and ran, following the path they'd taken down to waterfall. She felt dizzy with the stress of immediately regretting her decision. But maybe she didn't have to, maybe they were just going to stop Elliott before he got any further.

By the time she'd scrambled back to the village it was as she'd expected; about thirty male apes were barking in the clearing and circling around Caesar who was, at that point, on horseback. She stumbled to a stop as she took in the sight.

"SPREAD OUT. FIND HUMAN." he bellowed as Rocket raced to his side, also on horseback. The two beautiful creatures ambled around each other as their riders communicated what Aria was not yet close enough to hear.

"Wait!" she cried, taking off running again through the apes. They looked serious now; most armed with spears. Some even looked furious at her words, remembering what had come of the last time she'd used them so freely. Caesar caught her movement in his peripheral vision and blew his cheeks out. She didn't stop though until she was staring up at him from next to the horse's legs.

"Caesar he's not dangerous I swear to you. He's a researcher, like me. Not one of them. He wouldn't hurt any of you. He came to find me! Please don't kill him!"

The apes surrounding her snarled and pant-hooted at her plea, some even punching their fists into the ground in protest. His upper lip raised at one side and eyes narrowed at the scene. Aria didn't look anywhere but his eyes, trying to drag them into her own.

"Just, let me come with you!" she yelled and the apes got louder.

"Enough!" Caesar finally roared through the chaos and looked down on her desperate face, wondering how a girl with so much feeling had survived the human world for so long.

"Caesar, please."

His face was almost void of emotion again, his war face painted on without any paint. But he extended his powerful arm down to the girl, despite the hardness of his gait. Aria let out a shaky breath and slowly reached her arm towards his. He grabbed it immediately, his thick fingers closing around her upper arm and dragging her up towards the horse. She knew it was coming and grabbed the fur of his shoulder with her free hand as he pulled her, quickly maneuvering herself into position behind Caesar. His back felt hot and solid as her front slammed against it.

"GO" he roared with a force that vibrated from his throat down his spine and shook the girl behind him. The apes immediately charged into the Redwood, Blue Eyes heading North-west on his horse and Rocket North-East. Aria squeaked as the horse carrying them took off and she instinctively flung her arms around Caesar's middle, hands burying in the black fur in order to grip the skin beneath. The air whipped at her eyeballs causing them to water but she could tell they were heading in the direction of her old colony. _God_ she hoped it would be them that found him; she knew the apes wouldn't attack on sight if Caesar was there or, it seemed, Rocket. She wasn't so sure about Blue Eyes; he'd watched his mother die, and she'd seen the effects that damage caused in Blake. He'd caught up to his father's horse and was riding alongside them now, too close. He was side eyeing her with his brilliant, blues and she trembled a little inside; he certainly had his father's penetrative stare. He looked nothing like Caesar though, his features were much softer and didn't suit the garish scars that looked like they hadn't yet healed fully. Caesar seemed to notice the exchange and grunted to his son.

"I said to spread out Blue Eyes. Human would have headed North."

"How long?" his son spoke with human language for the first time and it dawned on her just how young Blue Eyes must have been.

"Sunrise to now."

"Could be anywhere."

Suddenly Elliott's words came back to her with an 'oh!'.

"There's an army base a few miles away!" she shouted over the wind, snapping back the apes' attention. "Elliott told me the whole base were out this morning. That's where he'll be going!"

"If there's nobody there why will he go there?"

"Because he's injured and there's radio transmitters there! It'll be wherever there's a coastline, they won't put it up in the forest in case of ambush."

She was torn between hoping he'd got there safely and hoping he hadn't got there at all. In an ideal world they'd catch up to him right before he had the chance to contact the colonel. Blue Eyes looked down at her dubiously and then to his father who nodded and allowed him to bound off ahead. It wasn't long before the smell of the sea breeze washed over her and she heard gibbering up ahead. As they ran towards the edge of the forest, Caesar slowed the horse to a gallop. A series of brunswick green tents came into view, their long half-cylinders stretched out along the line where land met water. Aria's stomach dropped at just _how close_ the base was to the ape home - it was maybe an hour in walking distance, no wonder Elliott had found them. She could see some trucks now too and a large satellite dish.

Rocket emerged from their left, having pulled his horse to a cautious trot. He stretched his hand out to Caesar for permission which the ape leader soon granted and Rocket dismounted his horse. A few of the apes readied their weapons and followed him towards the base, some on foot and others in the trees for a complete view.

"He'll be inside if he's here." Aria spoke up and Caesar stopped the horse a few meters from the edge of trees. The waves were crashing violently against the cliff-face and the wind had picked up to a feverish howl that would surely be too cold for a skinny and sleep-deprived teenager to bear. Not to mention the fact that, despite all the soldiers perfectly suited up for battle, Elliott hadn't been issued with so much as a helmet.

Caesar dismounted the horse and Aria followed sloppily, having never ridden before. When he heard her feet plop onto the earth behind him he stiffened and half-turned towards her.

"If I tell you to stay here, will you do it?" he grumbled.

Of course not. Who was going to stop Elliott getting his ass beaten? She knew he wouldn't attack the apes but the kid would sure as hell make it difficult for himself; he was as stubborn as he was kind. Which is why they were such good friends, war couldn't change him, only reasoning and good, hard evidence. Which she had in the ape colony really, he'd probably be doubtful at first as she had, but he was a scientist too - when the evidence is there you don't decide to _not_ see it. He would warm to the apes quickly as she had.

"No. I have to see my friend is OK." she replied, simply, and began striding towards the base. A growl rumbled from Caesar's throat and she felt his hand around her arm, halting her without difficulty. She couldn't stop herself from glaring in a way that was probably challenging to the ape king, but he didn't seem too affected, he just puffed air through his nose and stepped ahead of her.

"Stay behind me. Human girl is trouble."

She decided to do as she was told that time, grateful that Caesar had the decency to let her come with him after all. He let go of her arm and stepped out onto the cliff-side. Aria could see the apes had infiltrated the tents now and were emerging with objects from inside, had they been in all of them? If Elliott was there, they'd have brought him to Caesar already. She hugged the jumper to her frame as the wind took hold of her, it's caress turning to attack the closer she got to the coastline. She was glad Caesar was ahead to break some of it's anger. They were about forty meters from the nearest tent when Rocket came rushing over to Caesar. He looked alarmed as the two renegades conversed. The muscles on Caesar's back twitched as he heard her catch up to him and he turned to her again. Though this time he didn't look angry at all. He looked...anguished.

"Caesar what is it?" she asked, unnerved by the way he was regarding her. The ape leader didn't answer, he opened his mouth like he'd meant to, but the words just didn't come out. She felt even more uneasy when she noticed Rocket staring at her with a similar expression, and a few more apes ahead had cast a glance her way. The atmosphere was suddenly dense and strange, though apparently something remained invisible to her. Her brow furrowed at the confusing display and her eyes fell on the army base. What was it? The wind felt heavy now, like it was dragging her back and she fought against it to move forward. But as she passed Caesar he grabbed hold of her arm again.

"What?" she demanded but as her eyes met his, her frustration was forgotten. Oh no. And his hand wasn't so rough this time, his fingers gentler as they held her. His eyes sadder. _Oh no._

"Aria don't." he ordered. _No, no._ He couldn't hold her like that. He had to drag her again like he had last time, he couldn't be gentle. He couldn't look so sympathetic. She couldn't let him. Because that meant...

"Let go of me!" she hissed, her heart thumping so loud she was sure he'd heard it. She pushed his hand away and made for the tents. She didn't hear the apes gibbering, she didn't even hear the waves anymore.

Finally as a large overturned barrel came into view, so did the curly hair of her friend. Relief washed over her immediately as she took in the sight of him sat against the barrel, his back to her. He was so much smarter than her, he'd probably talked his way around the apes already. _Unbelievable._ She smiled and began jogging towards him.

"Bet you never thought you'd be rescued by-"

Her breath caught abruptly, her throat like a venus fly trap. The words disintegrated. But disintegrate wasn't a violent enough word to describe what happened in her throat as she finally reached him. Finally saw him. Or rather, what remained of him.

"Oh."

It was a simple response. Her tone of voice dull and soft. Her exterior not mirroring what had happened inside of her at the sight of Elliott. See, he'd looked alright from the back. Her blank eyes didn't focus on the hollow shell of his stomach. Nor on his half eaten face. Not even the wet worm-like creatures that lay inches from her feet...because surely they weren't his intestines? Right?. No, her eyes focused only on the pair of glasses dangling from his red fingertips. They weren't really a pair of glasses anymore; one half was smashed completely and the other was supporting a pool of blood. But he loved those glasses. He'd go mad if he saw them like this. She almost chuckled.

Then vomit lurched up through Aria's chest and she crippled under her weight. Except it wasn't real vomit, more like phantom vomit. But her body wanted to throw up. And so she convulsed and retched and cried out. The heaving didn't stop until a long arm circled her waist and dragged her back behind the barrel. It didn't stop there and she realized with a jolt that she was being pulled away from her friend.

"No!" she wailed digging her nails into the ape's arm to try and get away. She scrambled until she was on all fours and clawing at the earth to get out of Caesar's powerful hold. She wailed again and thrashed against him but he didn't give in.

"Come away" she heard his heavy words float past her head about a miles away but ignored them. Thick legs obstructed her vision as the apes blocked her view of the body. _Oh God, the body._

"Wolves" Blue Eyes' distant voice grumbled but reached her this time. WOLVES. The strength in her limbs shattered at the pointlessness of it all. What was she struggling towards. Parts of a body most of which were elsewhere being digested in the stomach of a wild animal. She'd never get to him now. Not all of him. And there was so much blood. How could he be so skinny and leave such a mess? Tears crashed around her face, wilder than the waves now, and she trembled on all fours. Her knees gave out and her body twisted, weight coming to rest on the side of her hip and thigh as her forearms struggled to support her torso.

The apes, unbeknownst to her, had begun to circle around the scene and were watching her tentatively. They had no idea what to do. Rocket scratched at his stomach, thoughts racing as he watched her suffer. Finally Caesar seemed to find the answer and he looped his arm under her again in an effort to gently pull her back onto her knees. She cried out again and he froze.

"Aria" Caesar huffed unsure of what else to say, she was sobbing now and shaking hard. He tried to pull at her again and she snapped round almost aggressively but to his surprise, threw her arms around his neck.

"I can't do it. I can't." she whimpered.

Aria hid her face along with her pain in the coarse fur of Caesar's shoulder. He looked startled by her action but allowed her to hold onto him. Her whole body trembled against him and he could feel his fur growing wet from her tears. His hands hovered above her small form but he couldn't bring himself to embrace her. To touch her even. Every instinct wanted to hold her fast and close, but the person inside Caesar remembered that she was not a female ape. So he was almost too frightened. It didn't make sense why he feared something so frail and small by comparison. Maybe it was how unpredictable he found her to be, or emotional or well, _different._ Like she was neither human or ape. Or maybe he was frightened of how it made him feel to watch grief completely consume her. He thought he'd never care about another human again. Humans and apes could not be friends. Which didn't explain why, when she hiccuped and pressed her face deeper into him, his heart swelled in his chest.

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 **Oh man my writing is poor in this chapter. I'm going to put it down to my new meds making me shot away...':D Anyway I do hope you liked it! Aria's taken some serious mental trauma as of late, will she evolve to cope with it or crumble underneath it?**

 **In response to naphtaliriver's question - I think there's a lot of religious symbolism in the new movies with Caesar being a Moses/Jesus character. In my head, Caesar having not killed Grey after Dawn works with the belief that you can be forgiven of anything if you're willing to repent. Grey wasn't as far gone as Koba and I believe his mind was probably twisted by him quite a bit. I think the other apes probably don't like that Caesar spared Grey or maybe don't understand why he did it. Caesar was the omnibenevolent leader at one point, maybe even for a short while after he killed Koba. Caesar probably wouldn't forgive such a betrayal again though (in my fic) because his morality has been shaken quite a bit since then. Also, I really enjoy reading your reviews - thank you for taking the time to do them :) !**


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: Hello dear readers! I'm sorry for taking so long to update this time...life has been putting me through the wringer and if I'm honest, I haven't felt motivated to write at all. I enjoyed completing chapter 10 though and I hope you all like it! I'm still very passionate about this story :)**

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Something that felt delicate and strangely kindred blanketed the cliff-side as three apes, who knew loss only too well, surrounded one female as she mourned her closest friend. The leader of the group crouched before the girl as her arms remained locked around his shoulders. Though it would be easy for him to break her hold, in that moment he just didn't want to. Then one of the apes finally broke the semblance as his dazed features tensed into a more firm and serious composure as he regarded his father.

 **'Coal patrolled the area - no sign of wolves now...or other humans.'** Blue Eyes confirmed.

 **'What are we going to do with this one? She's hurting badly..'** Rocket also signed to his leader, softer, still watching her with his typical frown.

Caesar reached his arms around the girl's back, which wasn't very difficult considering their size difference, to sign at the other two chimps. His eyes flickered down to her disheveled, pale hair and then back to his closest comrades. When his eyes met Rocket's, he noticed just how fresh his friend's own loss still was. When the two had met, in another lifetime, Rocket was cold and, ultimately, quite the bully. Or at least, he'd discovered that was what worked best for him in his dreary life behind bars. Caesar later found out that he'd spent his early life in a basement where apes were forced to fight as men handed each other pieces of paper and watched. Overpowering other apes was all he knew, not emotion, or kindness or anything else. He'd been hit in the head so many times that he struggled when Caesar first exposed him to the ALZ and didn't seem to inherit the same capacity for learning as everyone else. Rocket had lost his son a few days before Caesar lost Cornelia. Caesar would have expected Rocket to be the one who became cold and unhinged, but instead his friend seemed to only grow softer. He had more patience, more kindness. He loved Tinker better and despite his usual grumpy ways, experienced a lot more feeling. Maurice had said once, when they were mulling over the surprising changes in their old friend, that though he'd been fiercely loyal for ten years, he'd finally awoken to empathy.

 **'After we're done here she will return to the village with us. The trip to the South will go ahead as planned. You'll see that she gets to the humans there safely.'** Rocket nodded strongly at this, a little more agreeable than before.

Caesar noticed that Aria had stopped sobbing. Burying herself in his chest appeared to have calmed her. _Good._ He'd found her emotional outbursts unsettling so far; they flared unpredictably and it seemed like she was a human that couldn't be tamed. Though the physical contact must have dissolved the distress somewhat because her heart didn't thud against him with quite as much fervor as before. He would remember that for next time. He knew then that he wouldn't be able to settle her with dominance or force like he'd done with so many before. She was a female that needed to be soothed through touch and warmth. He hoped that was enough, because he really needed to question her on Elliott's actions. He sighed before reaching back to take her wrists then pulled them apart and away from his neck. She eased away from him and he pursed his lips at the sight of her red, puffy face and hair stuck to her wet cheeks. She stared weakly at where her face had been pressed moments before.

"Aria. I need to know if Elliott already made contact." Caesar spoke as gently as he could manage in his urgent manner. She didn't respond, he wasn't sure she even heard. Her face was completely vacant. But he couldn't afford to mess around. He was still holding her wrists in front of her and leaned his head down to her eye-level before shaking them. She jumped immediately and her eyes flashed to his in fright. The ape's throat dried with guilt and he let her arms go but continued to bare his gaze upon her.

"I don't think so...I mean I don't think he got that far..." her whisper trailed off and Caesar waited for her continue. He knew she would, she didn't seem to like her wounds being so visibly open for long. Rocket and Blue eyes looked equally uncomfortable and it was Winter who finally broke her out of her haze. The albino gorilla, who'd been standing guard by the horses, came forward and grunted at the girl.

 **'How can human be sure?'** he signed a little erratically.

 **'No gun'** she signed back, her eyes falling on the gorilla and light of faint interest returned to her eyes, as if for the first time realizing his uncommon colouring. "he would have tried to defend himself.."

 **'Can't be sure'**

 **'He wasn't an idiot he'd have armed himself'**

 **'Idiot enough to come to woods in the first place'** \- Winter's fingers stabbed at the air.

Caesar felt Aria tense next to him and barked the white gorilla to silence. But he knew he was right to be concerned. Winter immediately shrunk back under Caesar's authority. Though he glared hard at the gorilla he knew his words were not through lack of kindness but rather, fear. Of course Winter would never admit to this; his father had been a proud member of the gorilla guard and his final words to Winter had been 'be brave'. Like it wasn't the hardest thing in the face of war and suffering.

"It's OK Caesar." Aria's solemn voice drew back his attention. "I have an idea."

She lead him into the tent without another word. Blue Eyes had wanted to protest at first but Caesar raised his hand and gestured he and Rocket to guard the entrance. It was a fairly small tent with a makeshift desk inside holding various bits of parchment and photographs. To the right of the tent stood a curtain which Aria had already began folding back to reveal a long metal table and on it, heavy looking machinery.

"These are the transmitters." Aria mumbled, her voice was quieter than usual, duller. She ran her fragile fingers over the surface as she appeared to be considering something. Caesar was not as well-educated as he was intelligent, and so he really had no idea how to use the transmitters or if it was possible to find out if and when a transmission was last made. He hoped for the sake of his colony that she did.

"Can you use it?" he asked as he loomed about a meter behind her.

"Yes." She answered simply, picking up something off the top. "And I'm going to. I don't think Elliott made it this far, but I have an idea of how to hold off the colonel for a while. Can you trust me?"

Her question might have been ill-received by anyone except him. He who had been raised by loving humans and knew deep down of their capacity for 'good'. He wasn't sure anymore whether knowing this was a gift or a curse. Trusting humans was a lottery. But could this one really be 'bad'? If she secretly had some great hate for his species would she have healed Luca or found comfort against his apish form? It seemed very clear to Caesar that the majority of humanity saw him as a disgusting beast and her actions had reflected no such impression. When he'd tried to maintain control over the city, the humans from the North had got the better of him at every turn. They were veterans with minds formed of war and this was the first one his apes had experienced. He believed sending Malcolm and his family away was the right thing to do but perhaps, he needed one 'good' human's help, now more than ever. So he clenched his teeth and nodded. She smiled a little in response but it didn't reach her eyes. She pressed one of the buttons and suddenly the room filled with an insidious crackling. She was contacting the colonel. Caesar's nostrils flared in anticipation and he watched her intensely.

"Come in captain? Lieutenant? Colonel?" she demanded. Caesar's brow raised at the drastic change in her voice; it was powerful now and commanding, she wore a facial expression to match. Humans were so good at deception, just one of the many things that secretly concerned Caesar about his enemy.

"This is colonel Mcullough speaking. Where the hell has your report been?!"

Caesar heard the voice bark through the transmitter and stiffened – it was a crass voice that dripped with all the arrogance in the world. He hadn't heard one like it since Koba.

"Sorry sir we're having trouble with the transmitter down here. Should have it fixed in a couple of days."

"You'd better have that fixed soon private. Are the kongs dead and who am I speaking to?"

"Copy sir. No kongs that we can see, the kid must have been playing us. Think he's mentally ill sir - hallucinations. Kept talking about the empire state those movies were a prophecy."

"They're out there somewhere private. Watch the ocean for now. And who the hell am I speaking to?"

"Sorry you're breaking up again sir." She lied, pulling the ear piece down to the wooden table and dragging her nails across it. She twitched off the transmitter quickly and her shoulders finally relaxed. She released a breath, turning back to Caesar who had been quietly observing her throughout the conversation. _She's smart._ That would, at least, buy him more time to plan.

"That won't stop them for long" Caesar grunted, perfectly still.

"No but the base is set up on the coastline and I noticed some weaponry for taking out submarines. My guess is they weren't just here for you, in fact I don't think they were here for you at all until Elliott found them. They couldn't have known your colony were so close. Now no one who knows your whereabouts is alive...except for me."

Her voice sounded very matter-of-fact – a change from the erratic tone she usually had whilst speaking to him – like she wasn't scared anymore. Her estimation made sense, he knew humans fight other humans. All he knew about were the colony in the South and he'd already seen the colonel arrive by water with his big ships and weaponry enough to blow up the bridge. Were there equally powerful warlords in the South? Were his apes really just caught in the middle of a war that had been catalysed by apes but ultimately about humans destroying themselves ?

At that moment Rocket poked his head inside the tent, searching for an update.

 **'More time. But we must still act fast. Soldiers will come investigate when they don't hear back from base. Collect as many weapons as you can find.'**

Rocket nodded at the command and disappeared, leaving the ape leader and his human prisoner in an uncomfortable silence. His eyes found her again, she was turning something over in her hands. She seemed so much smaller than before, had she shrunk in the short time they'd been at the base? Her skinny arms looked brittle as she folded one of them across her chest, clutching at her middle. He knew it hurt there. It was always _there._ He looked over her shoulder to see that she was holding one of the photographs from the desk, it was a classic family portrait: mother, father and chubby, grinning children.

"What are you thinking?" he asked. She sighed in response and returned the photo to the desk.

"I'm thinking…I'm _wondering_ , how anyone with such a beautiful family could have such disrespect for life?"

Caesar didn't have an answer to that

"Let's go."

He was aware of Aria following behind him through the barracks though they said no more to each other. They stopped in one particularly long tent to see a few apes looting it of its medical supplies – the one's they knew how to use and Aria joined in, packing more boxes of 'morphine' into her bag. He noticed her pause, studying a broad-spined book neglected on one of the tables. Caesar continued through the tent, a little overwhelmed at the various, strange objects he had no idea how to use. Human-made things were so unlike ape-made things that he wondered grimly if their genesis knew any limits. His keen senses drew him to two insulated containers situated in the corner, the lid was off and inside tin lined packets of what smelled like human food. Caesar took another look at Aria, he noticed for the first time how underfed she was for a human. He vaguely remembered Ellie and Caroline's form and they both seemed to be much fuller, much less pale too. He realized he hadn't concerned himself with her eating over the past few days she'd stayed with them. He quickly gestured for one of the apes standing guard to collect enough of them to feed her for the rest of her stay.

Once Rocket reported that all the weapons and ammunition had been collected, Caesar decided it was time to leave. But as they left the tent, Aria's anguish was so intense it was almost tangible in the air. They were a little ways away from her friend's body and luckily on the right side of him but he could still hear her gasp as she spotted him once again. He looked back at her stood tensely with her small hands balled into fists and gestured to Rocket.

 **'Bring her'**

Rocket's craggy face was struggling to look kind as he took her forearm and tugged in the direction of the horses.

"I can't leave him." She choked out, yanking her arm out of Rocket's grip and stepping back a few feet from him. Caesar's brow furrowed with worry that they might have to force her away from the body. They couldn't take him, he would only fall apart further and the sight of him would no doubt alarm his apes who were already in enough of a state after the morning's events.

"You have to." Caesar replied darkly, his mouth setting in a hard line despite her inflated eyes.

"I can't…look at him he's-" She breathed, she'd began shaking and her breathing hoarse. "I can't leave him there like that. If…what if his mother-" her sharp gasp dried up the rest of her sentence. Her panic was evidently escalating and her eyes looked a little strange mentally. Caesar remembered how he'd managed to calm her previously and walked in front of her, blocking her view of Elliott. He reached out to rest his hand on her shoulder, squeezing slightly. It felt sharp and brittle under his large hand – so unlike the firm muscle of an ape's shoulder. He was mindful not to squeeze too hard, despite the thick material that separated their skin. Her gaze lifted to his at the contact and she sighed with watery, red eyes.

"What does human do?" he asked quietly "with the dead? Tell me and we will do it."

"We burn them." She whispered, leaning into his hand, craving his comfort. He nodded, though it was a strange concept to him. In his world, they would send their dead away by water. Although he knew they would end up little more dust, it was nice for his apes to believe their dead loved ones were going _somewhere._ Somewhere more than just where the weed decays. But setting fire to them? He could tell by the looks on his comrades' faces that he wasn't the only ape surprised by this.

But he allowed it anyway, because she looked so hurt. Besides, it didn't take long to gather enough wood for a bonfire and build it in the center of the cliff-side. Aria had retrieved a blanket from one of the tents and wrapped Elliott inside of it before the apes carried him to the fire. Smouldering flames danced heavenwards as his body fed them, flaring and spitting a shower of sparks. But ultimately, gently consuming him. Fire was a bit like Aria too, Caesar decided. Most of the apes were around the forest's edge keeping guard but a few had wandered towards the bonfire to watch. It wasn't long before the boy's body was completely transformed into charcoal, at their command. Caesar realized then why she wanted to burn him. Nature had taken him and left him in such a repulsive way, Aria was taking back control, taking back her friend. It seemed like a powerful way to say goodbye. She didn't say anything after that, Caesar decided it was time to return to the colony and she just followed, her features set in a hard, unreadable expression. If she were just some human soldier they'd taken prisoner he might have let her walk back, but the blood coursing through his veins screamed that she was more. He'd never really grasped the meaning of the term 'special' but he decided that she was probably the human equivalent. Or maybe he hadn't learned anything and his love of humans would stab him in the back again. Either way, he was gentle as he grabbed her waist and lifted her up onto the horseback. He shifted uncomfortably when he realized that from how he'd placed her, he would need to go at the back. But that was OK; when he mounted the horse he soon found that her head only came up to the base of his neck and he could easily reach his arms around her to control the reigns. He grunted at Rocket, who had been watching him curiously, and commanded him to move out.

"Thank-you" she mumbled as his own horse began trotting, her voice a little dry. He looked down at the top of her head and then back to the trees. He was distracted by the sensation of her warm frame pressed back into his chest and the unwelcome desire to keep her safe that came with it. _Too close._ His jaw tightened and he scolded himself. The sooner this girl was gone, the better and he could go back to planning their salvation.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading and as always, please like/review...it really does fill me with drive to keep writing xx**


	11. Chapter 11

Lake perched in one of the small alcoves dotted around the cave shoulder. She'd been shaping and sharpening elk bone for the best part of three hours and had already crafted several new weapons with her single flake of glass. She'd kept the company of Cornelius for the first hour before school, which Maurice insisted go ahead despite the morning's events.

 **'It's in the face of such horror that proper education is vital'** he'd signed. She suspected some of the adults would be present during his lesson too, not just to watch their young but because the apes seemed to congregate around Maurice whenever their great leader was absent. Maurice's wise words and strong will were almost as reassuring as Caesar's omnipotence. But Lake's worry was alight in two places, not just her home, and fashioning spears served as a pleasant distraction from whatever siege Blue Eyes was engaged in. She worried about her closest friend. She'd been doing that a lot lately, and each time Lake found herself unable to breath normally until he returned.

She knew inside that they were more than friends. Not yet what her parents were, but not what she and Ray were either, they were somewhere in between. They were 'Blue Eyes and Lake'. She like that a lot, even though he annoyed the shit out of her sometimes. But right now she wanted nothing more than to see that smug smile that looked far too boyish for such pretty eyes.

It wasn't too long before she did. It was always that same 'I know you've been worried' smile that only he could look endearing doing. Anyone else would just look arrogant. She thought maybe she shouldn't sit in the same place every time Blue Eyes was off on a mission, to disguise the fact that she was waiting for him. Afterwards they'd share food and sometimes even sleep next to each other. Though it was never discussed, of course, they both felt the same flood of warmth every time the other would roll against them in their sleep, or drape an arm over...because they were definitely asleep and not_at_all aware of what they were doing...

She hopped down from the alcove and began quadrupeding towards the horses, noticing how quiet their riders were. She tried not to look so happy at the sight of one unharmed Blue Eyes, so as not to be mercilessly teased by Ray again, and observed the other riders. Her eyes found his father looking as troubled as usual, and then fell on the strange, pointed face of the human female sitting below his chin. Her eyes looked dull as they stared blankly ahead, not as sparkly as usual. Lake was a stone's throw away now and wasn't the only one. The apes outside the cave had began crowding, waiting for answers.

 **'Why human sat with Caesar?!'** she caught Grey sign angrily to another ape. The thing about Grey was, he was an asshole, but to everybody without prejudice...humans weren't the only ones. She knew his abandonment as a child was the real reason he'd accepted Koba's guidance and taken him as a father figure despite only being five years the bonobo's junior and Koba never once reciprocating. Grey only pretended to condemn humans so it would look like what he'd done was a stance on his beliefs rather than just misplaced loyalty and blind faith. But everybody knew the truth of the matter really.

But in this case, Lake would be lying if she said she wasn't wondering the same thing. Nobody ever rode with Caesar. No one had been that close to him since the queen's death. Being born in the Redwood, Lake didn't have a lot of experience with humans but this one certainly didn't fit the description she'd been given. Lake shared her home with lots of different creatures and that was OK. She was friends with the chipmunks, raccoons and even the song birds. The deer didn't like her very much, despite her explicitly stating that she lived on a diet made up purely of fruit. Blue Eyes had teased many times at her life-style choices, but she didn't want to eat other creatures that shared her home, she wanted to be friends with them. So rather than look on Aria as the enemy, she preferred to just view her as a girl, like her. However, she knew for a fact, that her leader did not share the same views. He had once, his unprejudiced heart exemplary, but that part of him seemed beyond saving. So why did he have this single human female wedged, protectively, between the horse and his chest? From the look in his eyes, he appeared to be asking himself the same question.

Lake raised up on two legs and made her way towards Moon, Blue Eyes' pale horse. He liked Lake, she was kinder to him and less tormentative than Blue Eyes.

 **'Aren't you going to come down and say hello to me?'** Lake signed up at her companion, trying her best to look annoyed. Blue Eyes stared down at her blankly with that same 'thrown out to sea' expression. 'What was he supposed to do?' _God he was so clueless sometimes._ There was a chuff of air to his right as Rocket trotted his horse up to his, he was laughing. He signed something to the young chimp with minimal movements, so as not to be comprehended by Lake and his eyes widened. Blue Eyes jumped down from the horse and flashed Lake with a grin so stupid that it made her want to slap him. Or embrace him. One of the two.

 **'Thank you for waiting here for me all this time and doing nothing.'** \- he grinned still, clearly pleased with himself and expecting a pleasant reaction. Which, of course, he didn't get. _Waiting here and doing NOTHING? Does he realize how that sounds? As if I'm some desperate little firefly with nothing on my mind but boys? That self absorbed little -_

His smile suddenly faltered when he read her facial expression. Rocket looked horrified at Blue's words and jabbed him in the shoulder.

 **'You idiot that was the wrong thing to say!'**

 **'I didn't mean it like that!'** \- Blue signed frantically, his eyes darting from Rocket to Lake, not sure who to explain himself to. _Yeah, he really is clueless._ Lake released a huff and left the two apes to tie up their horses, scooting over to where Caesar was now standing. He had been watching the exchange with a ghost of a smile on his worn features.

"Where is my youngest son?" he asked, eyes still glued to Blue Eyes with a look that was loving but guarded. He was so proficient at sign at this point that he could read easily out of his peripheral vision.

 **'Cornelius is with Maurice. Hazel watching over Luca...he's sleeping still.'** she answered and her eyes shifted up to the girl on Caesar's flank, standing a few inches taller than Lake, who was muttering under her breath as she struggled with her rucksack. **'Maurice say she saved his life...?'**

At this, Caesar's gold-flecked orbs darted to hers and narrowed. The eye contact felt foreign; she'd never spent time with Caesar or even had a conversation, he was the king and her parents weren't even on the counsel.

 **'Humans are not like this Lake. She is...different.'**

Lake nodded, because what else could she do?

 **'She looks ill. What happened?'**

 **'Aria has suffered greatly today. She suffered like us...and she is alone.'**

Lake's eyes widened at this. Blue Eyes had often opened up to her on the late evenings they spend lying together or whilst she groomed him. He'd told her how his father was a different ape than he used to be; how he'd slaughtered a whole rank of soldiers as revenge and taken no prisoners from then on. So it was a surprise this girl was even alive at this point let alone granted compassion by him. She'd been curious when Aria had wanted to find Caesar; most humans couldn't stand the sight of him, and then even more curious when she followed her tracks downstream and found the two arguing next to each other. Then Caesar had grabbed her wrist and Lake held her breath, but he didn't even harm her, he just let her go and she looked so offended. She'd managed to make it back to the cave in time to pick up Cornelius from school undetected.

Lake was quite a hands-y ape and cupped her right one around the back of Aria's head, tugging forward a little.

 **'Come on.'** she gestured bending her free arm at the elbow and pulling her index finger in towards her body. The girl didn't seem to protest but it was Lake who stilled as her scent hit her. But it wasn't really her scent, it was mostly Caesar's, plastered around Aria's shoulders. Riding together was probably why she smelled so much like him. But he must have noticed this too, because he was a little possessive as Lake tried to guide the girl away and took her back. Was it his scent that made him act that way or did he notice how pretty she was too? No it couldn't be that. Caesar didn't notice appearance like Lake did, so something else about this girl? She was certainly kind but...

 **'I'll take her inside. In case apes still angry about this morning.'**

All Lake could do was stare in awe as he took the rucksack from her, then his hand raised to her back and pressed her forward gently, urging her to start walking. She felt Blue Eyes' agitation rolling off him like smoke and turned to see his jaw set as he watched his father chaperone the human back to the cave. But Lake was anything but annoyed at this.

 **'Maybe, if she goes alone, someone like Grey would attack her.' -** Lake signed, nudging Blue's bicep affectionately with her knuckles.

 **'He's acting savage one minute and the next he's saying we should spare this ONE human for no good reason. I just hope I don't have to listen to his self-righteous racoon shit again. His opinion is always the RIGHT one whether it's killing humans or-'**

An angry bark from Rocket ended Blue's rant and he huffed, turning to Lake with softer eyes now.

 **'I'm sorry about what I said. I just meant...thank you.'**

He said it with such sincerity and charm that it was _all_ that counted and she couldn't resist leaning in to press her forehead against his. She didn't think about Caesar and the strange girl any longer.

* * *

Aria had no idea how long she'd been asleep. She remembered closing her heavy, puffy eyes only to have them gauged out of her head by carnivorous wolves in the dream realm. And then the drumming again, just as the alpha wolf was about to swallow her whole. She woke up with a gasp, bolting upright and hands flying up to her stomach - clutching the wounds that weren't really there. As her cloudy eyes became more adjusted to the fire light, a large silhouette took center stage in her thoughts. She blinked the sleep away furiously until she was able to process the broad ape sitting across the flames from her. The tension around her eyes disappeared and she breathed a sigh of relief as she realized she was back in her hovel with one of the few living creatures in this world that _wasn't_ savage. She never thought she'd be relieved to be at the ape colony, but the realistic alternative looked a bit like hell. That's when it struck her. Breaking the protective haze of sleep that only takes care of you between dreaming and fully waking and then gets torn away by the light of day. But it was no longer day, and save for the fire-light, they were sat in blackness. The realization that her best friend was dead - the evidence of that swallowing her thoughts. She wasn't relaxed anymore, but her body fell lax. She resisted the temptation to collapse back onto her make-shift bed and shut her eyes again.

Caesar appeared to have noticed the change in her and looked away, like it was somehow wrong of him to witness any more of her suffering. At least, she thought that's what it seemed like. There was a pail of water next to where her head had been and she was grateful of it, swigging it down like her life depended on it. Which, really, it did. She looked to Caesar as she drank, he was looking at her again now, contented that she'd accepted the water. He sat on one of the small rocks on the opposite side of the bonfire, elbows resting on his knees, nudging at the firewood with a stick that seemed to disappear in his massive palm. There was a touch of uncertainty crinkling his brow. She lowered the pail to ground, surprised that when she ran a finger along her bottom lip to catch the moisture, the ape king's eyes dropped to her mouth. His brow raised unwittingly and she noticed that he lingered there, on her full lips, long after she'd taken her finger away. She blinked a couple of times until his eyes trailed back up to hers and he huffed restlessly. Looking more troubled and tired than usual, like the events of the past day were finally taking their toll on him and the cracks in his facade were beginning to show. She knew her lips were much fuller than those of a female chimp...but comparing still seemed strange. She wanted to ask him how long he'd been watching her sleep for, but he looked so drawn she couldn't bring herself to interrogate him. And for what? It wasn't his fault that her friend had been killed. It was hers. He'd just been kind enough to bring her back to his home.

"Human shake lots during sleep." he spoke finally, his voice heavy as he regarded her form. "Unwell?"

Her body answered of it's own accord by lurching forward and coughing violently. She cringed, the stress was enough to make her ill and if her immune system was low well..that wasn't good news for the barely healed wounds plastering her shoulder.

"I think so...I'll be fine. How's Luca doing?" she asked sincerely. She'd planned to check on him and how far out of the woods her work had got him, metaphorically speaking of course, and maybe change his dressing. She needed to feel like she'd done _something_ right, but limbs felt heavy and a cold chill ran up her spine, warning her against the idea. Caesar studied her carefully, eyes squinting at her question, straining to find some fault in her eyes. He sighed with defeat and dragged his fingers down his leathery cheek.

"You care." he stated hoarsely, restlessly. "Of course you do. This couldn't be easy. It has to be someone like... _you_ "

The last word was deeper, gravelly like maybe he didn't want her to hear it but at the same time was accusing her. Her brow furrowed in confusion yet it was the _realist_ she'd seen him. But what did he mean? Someone interfering and as frustratingly disobedient as her? No, she was smarter than that and convinced that at least some of what she could see in his emerald gaze was real compassion for her.

"I'm sorry am I not making this whole killing me thing easy?" she snipped, but she wasn't annoyed, she wanted _him_ to confirm her thoughts. She wanted _him_ to admit he wasn't the stone-cold monster he let her species believe he was...if only to himself. Their colonies weren't going to get anywhere until he did. But instead of responding he just huffed, and rose to his feet. _Crap._ Her voice _had_ sounded a bit hostile.

"I'm sorry...I'm just...I'm lost." she heaved out her words, resenting how pathetic she sounded. At the sound of her meek voice, Caesar stopped and sighed heavily, turning his head to look at her, his lips pressing together hard. If facial expressions were words his would probably have been 'me too'. She _**was**_ lost. She felt like the world was under some veil that only she could see through, and no one would believe what she saw on the other side. She'd lost two people she'd loved in the space of four days, she knew deep down that the impact of that hadn't even hit her yet, not fully. And she dreaded that moment with bated breath. For now, she just didn't want to be alone.

His face was cragged with lines and dark fur that was flecked with grey but there was something a little human in it in the warmth of the fire light. It was obvious that he was male and probably very handsome in the ape world. Maybe, oddly, in the human one too. But he wasn't human. And it was wrong of her to pretend in her head that he was, just because she needed company so badly at that moment. He was her captor. But...

"Stay" she choked out from her sore throat. Not really thinking about anything else but the despair in being alone that night. He blinked a couple of times and looked towards the exit of her little room, then back to the fire. He was hesitant about adhering to her, she could tell that much. She expected him to dismiss her again and just leave, but instead, he sat back down, wordlessly and dropped another stick from the pile into the flames. It hissed and flared as the life was fed back into it. She sat cross-legged, cringing inwardly, not wanting to want him there at all but...he'd brought her comfort already and she needed that again. She knew why she'd asked him to stay; perhaps if she didn't look at him too much, she could feel like she was in the company of a man, maybe even her general back home. What she didn't know, was why he did stay. She didn't care, she was just grateful.

She noticed, for the first time the fruits and meat left next to her bed. She couldn't help but smile at how Maurice had obviously noted that she didn't eat tree bark. It made her feel warm inside and a voice in her head screamed that she was teetering on the edge of a whole gravity well of confusion. She'd read a book about Stockholm Syndrome once and perhaps the only reason those little gestures meant so much to her was because she'd come to expect much worse from her captors. She started gnawing on a red apple, she didn't want to think about that tonight.

"What will you do now?" she asked quietly between mouthfuls. Caesar shut his eyes momentarily before glancing across at her, his expression less thoughtful, guarded.

"Right..." she mumbled, preoccupying herself with her food and trying not to feel anxiety ripple through her every time he looked like he was about to leave.

"I thought, I hoped, after all this time - after everything humans have done to my family...I could believe only apes truly deserved to live." he started suddenly, his tone of voice demanding her attention despite himself. "Then I find an ape like Koba. And then a human like you. I don't know anymore..."

"If there's really a difference? Between us...?" she couldn't help but finish his sentence, desperate for the reassurance that there was someone else out there who thought the same as her. He met her eyes.

"I..don't know. That isn't good enough for them." Caesar sighed, gesturing behind him. "Ape seek strongest branch...most...stable."

"You seem pretty strong to me. Like...King Kong strong."

His brow raised at the rhythm of her words and his mouth spread slightly, he made a gruff noise that sounded like a chuckle.

"You sound different saying...Kong. Not like how soldiers sound when they say it." he observed. She smiled at this.

"Well I told you. I'm not a soldier."

"You...loved one. Your mate?"

Aria swallowed hard at this, she felt guilty that she found Blake's death easier to cope with than Elliott's.

"He wasn't always like that. And he wasn't my mate. He was my boyfriend. Well not even that in the end. Maybe not even my friend"

"His death hurt you."

"Yeah. Well I remember who he was before the war...I just hoped that person was coming back. I guess he never will now."

"You don't hate ape for killing him?"

"No. I'm immune to the Simian Flu not reason. There was nothing of him left to kill and even if there was, I try not to generalise. William Blake said that to generalise is to be an idiot."

"Yet you live by other humans' words?" she didn't think he meant it as insulting as it sounded.

"Most of the good ones aren't alive anymore. Fate's pretty cruel in that way."

Caesar nodded at this and she it dawned on her that this was the longest conversation she'd had with him so far. And it was pretty deep...she guessed Caesar didn't engage in small-talk. He must have realized this too because his brow furrowed back to it's usual stern expression and he grew silent.

"So do you." she pointed out, remembering the words carved clumsily into the boulders. He looked at her confused. "Well not humans. Apes...'Ape not kill ape'. Who said that?"

His leathery face contorted with stress and his jaw set into a hard line. "I did."

 _But you killed Koba..._ Aria shut her mouth then, she was pushing too hard and the ice was thin.

After a few minutes of sitting with nothing but the crackling of the fire, shivers started to rake Aria's body. The heat had been near burning her face before but she was suddenly freezing cold, like someone had ripped the wall out from behind her back. She ground her teeth together and tried to be comfortable with shivering, hoping it would at least generate some heat in her bones.

"Cold?" his inquiring voice drew her out from within and she peeked through the flames at him. His face was soft again now and she breathed a sigh of relief. She tried to nod and another chill rocked her spine.

"I t-think something's wrong." she managed, pulling the jumper down over her knees in almost child-like manner as the cold continued to bite at her skin.

"Looking whiter too." he stated before pushing up off his knees and moving away from the fire.

"N-no!" Aria squeaked, terrified that she'd be ill and alone. That she'd die like Elliott had. "Don't leave."

Caesar paused as he towered above her. For a second his mouth screwed up to one side and looked angry. But then his shoulders relaxed and he moved around the fire on two feet, still puffing his chest out. In one smooth motion he sat beside her, close enough that she could feel the body heat radiating off him and it made her shiver again, but this time in such a pleasant way that her eyes drifted shut.

"Ape warm." was all he said and Aria's eyes flew open, there was recognition in his eyes - like he knew exactly what she needed. The breath hitched in her throat as she considered his proposal. She remembered how she'd clung onto him, the nearest being, after finding Elliott's body...she also remembered how he didn't throw her off or attack her, despite how close her tender throat was to his fangs.

"You won't hurt me..." she tested. She hadn't thought he would before, she remembered how her confusion lead to her kissing his cheek last time and gulped. He wasn't Blake. He wasn't human. But her body obviously hadn't felt threatened to propel her forward like that but...now. Now was different, because now she felt truly vulnerable; her strength was gone and there was a good chance she wouldn't make it through the night. But she didn't want to die cold and miserable and alone. Something she couldn't perceive flared in his wide-eyes as he processed her pathetic question.

"No. Aria cold, Caesar...warm." he grunted matter-of-fact. Aria crossed the line. She shuffled closer until she felt the stiff fur on his shoulder against her temple. He carefully moved his arm from his side and her face and wrapped it around her, all the way around her body and then some. It felt thick and muscle bound, a sharp contrast to her downy limbs and fawn-like frame. She wanted to be like that, she wanted to be strong but for now she would reside in the comfort of his strength. His warmth igniting her side as he pulled her flush to his rib cage. She stumbled a little at the force of the movement, hand planting on the ground by his knee to stop herself falling onto his lap. He grunted with frustration at himself, he had tried to be gentle, but the human body was just so fragile. Especially this one. Nevertheless, she reveled in the warmth that gradually spread to the free side of her body. It just felt so _good._ To be this close again. To be cared for. To be _held._

All at once it was too much and not enough. Her thoughts had been silenced by the content her body was feeling and were no longer in control. She didn't care that he was the feared ape-king, the infamous creature who'd captured her and could snap her spine at any given moment if he so desired. That part of her had gone to sleep. So tired now. All she cared about, all her body cared about was feeling _better.  
_ She hadn't received any confirmation from him, but something in the flesh and bone of her tether to the world told her that it was OK. So she pushed up on her trembling limbs, trying to ignore the chill that claimed her with every nanometer that separated them. She scooted in front of him and he allowed her, his arm dropping back down to his side as pierced her with his stare once more, so curious. So _interested._ He sat with his legs bent out in front of him, his broad torso haunched over so her heat almost reached the height of his chin. Aria didn't ask permission, nor leave enough time for him to realize what she was doing. Which was why, when she shifted down into his lap, he froze with shock. She sat with her bottom on the ground, between his thick legs with her own bent over his right one and rested her head against his chest. It felt comforting to see him folded around her, so small in his gait. He'd stiffened at the contact, lip curling back on instinct to expose his dangerous fangs. Her move was too forward, she knew that, but God did she need that contact. In fact, when he finally settled and his arms found her body once more, his own eyes shutting, pulling her against his heat and inhaling her scent like it was his oxygen - it was impossible to tell, **who needed it more?**

 **And would getting this close prove to be one _terrible_ mistake?**


	12. Chapter 12

Aria heard Maurice approach before she saw him. His movements were slow and heavy, _older_ than the others and maybe even slow for an orangutan. There was something gentle about the way he moved too, like perhaps the stones and leaves weren't so bothered about being squashed so long as it was him doing it. Because he _was_ gentle. In the way of the cuddly, loving grandad that always brought sweets when he visited. Or in this case, cold meat and pecans. He looked even more like a grampa with a certain impossibly cute chimp baby hiding in his fur.

Aria smiled and unwittingly shifted away from the ledge where parts of the waterfall split off and fell down to the chasm below. She'd enjoyed sitting so close; she wasn't afraid of heights and the cool water felt good spraying her cheeks, alleviating the hot flush - her temperature had been fluctuating between two extremes all morning. Though it didn't really feel like morning yet, the sun was only just starting to crack through the mist. She hadn't noticed it before but the cave did feel a little cozy, what with the warm torch glow and waterfall concealing it so well. She shuffled forwards as the apes approached, because there was a small, subconscious part of her that, despite all she'd seen, screamed 'at some point one of them is going to push you right over'. And it was so deep, she would surely drown.

"Feeling better?" Maurice asked with words spoken as gentle as his eyes, which told her he knew all about the events of yesterday, maybe all, except one...

"Yes" she lied "I'm still feeling shaky but I think the flu's mostly passed now."

Maurice didn't seem convinced and he reached up to take something from Cornelius's little hands.

"Eat leaves...medical...will help" he nodded in encouragement, holding them out to her. She took one look at them, immediately recognising their distinct shape and patterns, and knew he was right. _Christ._ They really were like paleolithic humans. But what did God want with them? Why had he kick started the evolution process when there were already perfectly good humans walking about? Maybe God had nothing to do with it, maybe he wasn't listening or just not there at all, and it was all the ALZ. Which would make it all man's doing...she felt guilty objectifying them as some flesh-wielding phenomenon. Especially when she looked at Caesar's little son, waiting to see if she'd accept the medical leaves he'd helped carry for her. It reminded her a bit of how innately unprejudiced young children are, how in the human world, racism is taught by the adults around them. Their young opinions swayed so easily this way and that. Aria figured that the world wanted Cornelius to hate her, but probably the only thing he truly _hated_ was bath-time.

"Thank you" she whispered to him and his eyes lit up with interest, though he remained almost fully concealed behind Maurice's fur.

 **'He likes to help'** Maurice signed now that his hands were free. **'More confident with Aria now'**

It appeared that speaking was still such a struggle to the apes. All, except Caesar. She'd been focusing on her physical state in the hour she'd been awake, trying not to think about her evening with the ape king. It was odd, too odd to think about and just confusing. Though Maurice's next words forced it to the front of her mind.

 **'Because Aria smells like Caesar.'**

He didn't sound at all accusing but he studied her carefully, curious by the fact but also a little alarmed. Probably not as alarmed as she was. How could she smell of him? Was there something about being alpha that made your scent more pungent? Enough to mask the human-bound scent of danger and convince the other apes that maybe they didn't need to attack her? Or make it worse? She felt worried and embarrassed, as though she owed Maurice an explanation.

 **'Sat next to Caesar and spoke for a long time last night'** she signed before tearing up one of the leaves and pushing it past her lips. Because that seemed a lot better than telling Maurice that she'd spent the night in her captor's furry arms.

 _Christ._

Well maybe not all night, she reasoned with herself. He certainly wasn't anywhere to be seen when she woke and that was somehow reassuring. Maybe it was a dream and she hadn't cuddled up to and gauged comfort from the surprisingly comforting chest of a wild animal. But it somehow seemed wrong categorizing him as a 'wild animal' now...she felt as though she'd been on some drug-induced trip. Like maybe Pleoh spiked her water bottle with ketamine that morning and this whole time she'd just been lying on the forest floor hallucinating. It was insane how warped her mind had become in such a short period. Or how clear it had become. She couldn't be sure which. She decided on the term used in psychology studies - 'non-human animal'. Yes, that didn't put such a wedge between her and the creature that had held her in his arms, like a man, until she drifted into sweet slumber.

Then there was Maurice's kindness and of course, there was Lake. Who girlishness had probably shocked her the most. Not to mention the talking. They'd all heard the rumours about apes using spoken language, but seeing really was believing. Or in this case, hearing.

The initial revelation had left her fascinated and excited in a typical philosopher's fashion. If only Charles Darwin was alive to see this. Unlike most humans who felt nothing but dread grip their gut at the idea of such creatures, fear of replacement ruling above all else, it had given Aria hope. To this particular young warrior, war couldn't be won. It _wouldn't_ be won. The apes were, some, as smart as humans and what they lacked in technology they made up for in stamina and dexterity. She knew now that it was a war where both sides were equally powerful and equally conscious of themselves and the world around them. And like all wars of this particular fashion, both would suffer unimaginably and so much blood would be spilled that neither could truly be victorious. Perhaps life was simpler when Aria still believed that her species were culling dumb animals lead by a bloodthirsty, slightly-smarter-than-average beast. But now...coming here, knowing what only she knew...she couldn't turn a blind eye ever again. She didn't want Caesar to die. In fact, the idea of him getting shot down, bullets tearing through the thick muscle that had kept her warm and safe in her hour of need, made her skin crawl. _Too close._ She groaned, trying not to care as much as she did about the ape colony and their leader.

 **'Where did you go?'** Maurice signed suddenly, waving his hands around her face a little to grasp her attention. _What?_ She realized with a start that the baby was gone, and settled slightly when she saw a more boisterous child leading him away, encouraging him to play with the others. She must have missed the whole interaction.

 **'There are moments where you're gone. I can see in your eyes. You're not there.'**

She almost laughed because Maurice, in his typical teacher fashion, had repeated what every school report had read since she was three. Just by definition instead.

 **'Thinking'** she gestured to her forehead, simple, smiling slightly.

 **'Aria has loud thoughts?'**

Nobody had ever put it that way before, it was always 'distracted', 'off with the fairies, 'day-dreamer'...but maybe that all sounded too pleasant. Maybe her thoughts were just loud.

"So loud...sometimes I can't focus on anything else."

Maurice appeared to be considering her words for a few seconds before raising his finger.

'I am the same. For a long time I thought bugs were in my ears. But it's not a bad thing. It's helped many situations. If all creatures had such loud thoughts, maybe we could all hear each other. Human and ape would stop fighting. '

Caesar had 'loud thoughts' too...well she took that to mean intelligent and affected by reason anyway, and yet he would not even entertain the idea of peace, or let anyone else entertain it.

 **'Human gone again, where?'**

"Sometime it's like a classroom with a giant chalkboard" she started honestly, because she knew Maurice liked to _know_ things. Just like her. And if he truly was a philosopher in an Orangutan's skin, then he'd appreciate honesty in a little artistic flare."- for writing on. And I'm quickly scribbling all my thoughts down, trying to make sense of them. To get to a conclusion. Or I'm sat on a recliner in the middle of a field, staring at a yellow sky and trying to make sense of it. But sometimes..." -and her voice was deeper, quieter- "when reality is unbearable, I'm back in Santa Clara, with my mum. She's reading me 'Filler of the Gaps' because she wanted me to be clever. And the plague, and the killing, it all never happened."

 **'Somewhere Aria is happy. Inside here. '** He touched his finger to her forehead in understanding.

"I can't stay though."

 **'Neither can we.'**

"Maurice." her eyes grew-wide, she grabbed his shoulders gently but seriously. "You have to convince Caesar to end this war. To at least try for peace. Apes can't win. I'm sorry but they can't. Caesar will die. Or maybe he won't, I don't thinks humans can win either. But he'll lose so much more. You all will."

'What is there to do?'

"Run. You all have to leave. The attacks here won't stop coming. Come with me to Los Angeles, I think the colony there don't communicate with the soldiers up here and the North are wary of them. They probably haven't even heard about Koba's attack. They won't hate you straight off the bat, they'll all be immune to the Simian anyway. From what I've heard, they're scientists too, they'll be more interested by you than threatened. If you can make peace with them you'll be able to live there. The colonel won't come South."

"Do not trust humans." Aria's face fell at his admission, and she took her hands off his shoulders, even though he had not so much as flinched at her slight touch. He leaned down to peer into her face, trying to make eye contact with her again.

 **'Aria. You are good human. But there will always be those who will want to hurt us simply because we are different. And those apes who will want to hurt humans.'**

"You'll die if you stay here" she sighed weakly.

 **'So we are not staying here.'** her head snapped up at this, hopeful. **'We will leave. That is why Caesar is sending apes with you. But we cannot live with humans.'**

It was selfish, but the line that stuck in her head first was the true reason Caesar was sending his son and his second with her. She dug her nails into her palm, punishing herself for the unwelcome pang of disappointment that shot through her when she realized that sending apes with her was part of a bigger plan and had nothing to do with _keeping her safe._ Her reaction infuriated her because it was completely narcissistic and just plain weird. She decided to put it down to the alpha air that Caesar had about him. Perhaps that was all part of it, he was so authoritative and regal that it made you _want_ him to care for you. For your life. She shook her head. But she wasn't a chimp, and she shouldn't be affected by it so easily. Or maybe she'd just been pushed over the edge and was genuinely ill in the head now.

 _Her body felt like a live-wire when he squeezed her. She didn't think he'd meant to but he really was very strong. Nevertheless, it felt good. She almost shivered at the sensation of being held, because how long had it been? She had been so cold, but now all she could feel was the warmth radiating from his fur through her jumper and into her welcoming skin. But it wasn't just a combination of pressure receptors and nerve stimulation, it was his apparent **need** for her embrace. It mirrored her own. She was sure she felt his face press lightly against her hair. Was he sniffing her? She blushed at this and buried her face into his chest. Noticing for the first time, the white birthmark like a stretched heart across his shoulder. His scent was earthy like pine trees and tobacco. Reminding her of how badly she could use a cigarette. Or could have used...about five minutes ago. His hands didn't touch her, only his forearms held her bones to him. It was better that way. She shut her eyes. _

_His arms suddenly shrank around her, less meaty and half as warm, and the fur against her cheek disintegrated to leave hard, flesh and musky aftershave. Her eyes flew open. His chiseled jawline felt stubbly against the top of her head. She gasped and pulled away from him, hands raking up his bare chest to find his face._

 _"Blake" she whispered, tormented by the familiar sight of his deep-set eyes._

 _"You missed this didn't you baby?" he smirked._

 _She felt as though the air had been knocked out of her and there was a blinding white light. She could see her body shaking and whimpering but she wasn't inside of it. And then suddenly she was. And his large palm spread across her back, supporting her. Not **him.**_

 _"It's OK" Caesar grunted, looking down at her with a level of intensity that perhaps should have been unsettling. She released the breath of trepidation she'd been holding and sank back into his warmth._

Yeah. She'd definitely gone mental.

OK so that wasn't such a shock was it? After what she'd endured, hallucinating was a symptom of what, psychosis? No she didn't feel like that, it was probably post-trauma. But that was to be expected right? That was fine. All the great minds in history were a little crazy right?

"Caesar"

Aria jumped a little at the strained voice behind her. She turned. At the cave mouth, Caesar stood. He'd been stopped by one of the lower ranking apes who'd made an offer to carry his pelts, to which he politely declined. He was pale-faced with white paint that look like it had been smeared carelessly across where his rib cage was hiding and down his arms. Her eyes, still lazy with sleep, travelled down the stripe of striking red that started between his eyebrows, missed his mouth altogether and then ended around his diaphragm. It made him look quite surreal. Because he was well-fed and muscle bound, yet the paint gave him a disturbing skeletal quality. If the look was intended to intimidate, he was doing a good job. Strangely, knowing he wasn't the cruel, power-crazed warlord that she'd originally believed him to be didn't make it any less frightening than it had been the first time she saw him like this. Maybe humans would always be frightened of him. There was something different in her this time though. When he'd rode into her city all those months ago, she hadn't been thinking about how masculine the paint made him look, or that he had masculine features at all. And she certainly hadn't noticed how his bicep twitched as he gripped his weapon, looking even stronger as his blood boiled. She assumed that this time it was from the hunt and, from the all-to-familiar smell of blood, a fresh kill. The lower rank ape appeared to be conversing with Caesar. Aria was glad for it, because she wanted to talk to him herself. She pushed herself up, perhaps a little too quickly, and her body went cold. She remembered how she'd dealt with that last night and flushed again. Well that was a quick way of regulating her temperature. She stopped a few meters from Caesar, who had yet to notice her presence at all, but close enough that she could hear his low rumbling.

 **'Please let me do something. Help with anything.'**

"Your wife is sick. You have children. Do not worry about not hunting today. Go back to her." Caesar stated calmly but the ape before him seemed frantic.

 **'Hunting is my use here. If I'm not useful, I will not eat.'**

At this, Caesar reached for the ape's shoulder, squeezing it with strength that would reassure an ape and kill a man.

"This is not your old home Bay. I am leader here and I say you eat. Tonight and every night."

Aria watched the exchange with soft eyes, wanting nothing more than her mother's old camcorder to film Caesar like this and show it to her colony. Or even just her parents. She was so desperate to show _someone_ what the ape colony was really like. If for nothing else, to feel a little bit _real._

When a flood of other apes, coated in the same decor, passed through and the ape talking to Caesar finally accepted his kindness and left, Aria approached. But as she crossed the path, he'd already began walking away.

"Caesar?" she asked, if he'd have stopped and turned to her, she'd have stuttered because she didn't really know what she was going to say, only that she wanted to say something. But he didn't. His eyes remained glued to the wide passageway as he continued walking.

She didn't try to catch up with him. She called his name again but he didn't so much as flinch. She was scowling now, because he was blatantly ignoring her again. _Great,_ he'd gone back to being as communicative as a brick wall. Did something happen this morning? Well he wasn't ignoring his apes. She realized, awfully, that it could have been how close she'd gotten to him last night. Physically only, it appeared. She vaguely remembered sitting in his lap...he hadn't initiated that. But if he felt uncomfortable, then why didn't he move her? Why did he embrace her so...desperately?

She turned to see Lake quadrapeding towards her with Maurice and her eyes flickered quickly to ape king and then back again.

 **'Do you want to come fishing with me?'** Lake was signing a little abruptly when she'd caught Aria's gaze. It suddenly felt like the first day of school where you're not quite sure how to make friends so you sort of blurt you "do you want to come play?" too fast for the other kid to really hear properly. Aria thought Lake was cute.

"Good for Aria to get out of cave. See more of village." Maurice said, carrying not only Cornelius but two other chimp babies in his long arms. Apparently they didn't want to go to school that day.

At Maurice's words Caesar snapped around, the corner of his upper lip pulled up with a face that looked disapproving.

"She is not staying." he stated calmly but with a gravel that sounded forced. She watched his eyes drift from Lake, to Maurice, to his little son, and then avoided her completely.

"Prepare to leave at midday."

Her stomach dropped at his words - she hadn't convinced him yet. Now she may never get the chance. If there was one to start with. But she understood his haste and it would only be a matter of weeks before the colonel and his men got here. Though she couldn't help but notice how tightly controlled his voice was.

"Lake, take her to the women's quarters, see if they've finished her saddle bag."

What? They didn't have saddle bags when they rode into the colony. Shit, they didn't even have saddles.

With that, Caesar turned and continued through to the courtyard - a part of the cave Aria hadn't yet had the confidence to venture into. She knew it was where most of the apes, particularly the females, would be. It hadn't escaped her notice that the ape council was made up only of males, along with the hunting party too apparently. If she were staying, she'd certainly have something to say about the whole 'male-chain-of-command' thing. It's not that she was particularly good at hunting game, and accepting the food Maurice had brought her her every day had been necessary, but really, she _hated_ relying on others. She was fiercely independent in her old life, the only thing she was OK relying on was that sweet tobacco Blake's dad had in bulk from Barcelona. Even then she'd rather just have her shit together, but sometimes she felt drawn to like things she really shouldn't.

Wait, why was she thinking about staying anyway? Almost everyone who had ever met her was right, **she thought way too much.**

She was relieved to see that, when they reached their destination, most of the apes were gone, probably in the courtyard they'd, thankfully, avoided. The 'women's quarters' were divided into several caverns all twice the size of her room. Or what _was_ her room. As she and Lake walked through the middle she could see each cavern contained a variety of hand-crafted goods. Bear-skin blankets and woven baskets hung from the walls. Aria stopped when her eye caught a rack of what appeared to be weapons half-crafted out of bone and wood.

 **'I made those'** Lake signed proudly.

"They're really cool" Aria remarked and blushed immediately. Lake just stared at her in confusion.

 **'Cold?'** she signed questioningly **'Aria not have thick ape skin...'**

"No" she giggled "cool - it means...good or like, impressive."

Lake looked heavenwards for a second. Then she signed 'impressive' and then 'good', and Aria did something that sort of combined the two. Lake hooted excitedly before copying.

 **'Cool. Cool. Cool.'** Lake repeated then paused. **'Thank-you.'**

Finally they reached the room holding the saddle bags, they were sat at the feet of the ape who had made them. Aria had never seen an ape so pretty before. She sat, smaller than the other females and was much thinner, making her sparkling eyes stand out even more. She would have guessed the ape to be relatively the same age as her mother, the lines around her eyes told that the years had not been kind to her. But she was pretty nonetheless. She gave a soft, high-pitched hoot as the two entered.

 **'So this is the human girl that Caesar spared'**

Her deep, ocean eyes looked Aria over then she chuffed a little air with a smile. Aria had noted that apes didn't show their teeth when they smiled.

 **'Pretty'** Tinker signed, seemingly amused at the sight of the girl.

 **'Aria this is Tinker and Rain'** \- the ape called Rain flinched at Lake's bold introduction and snarled, rising immediately and eyeing them both. As she did so, Aria's eyes were drawn to the large bump protruding from her stomach. She was with child. Rain waved a sign at Tinker before leaving with a huff.

 **'You must forgive Rain'** Tinker sighed.

"Pregnancy" Aria shrugged in understanding and Tinker smiled. "Thank you for making these bags."

 **'It's OK. I don't have much to do these days.'**

 **'She's lying, she took over as leader of the females after the Queen passed'** Lake laughed cheekily. Aria felt awkward.

 **'But Cornelia's guidance is still here. She leads us from the past.'**

Cornelia...so that was her name. Caesar's wife.

 **'Rain helped too but keep that between us'**

"Do females ever hunt?" Aria asked though she hadn't meant to, her curiosity just got the better again.

 **'No...'** Tinker didn't look to surprised and her eyes flickered to Lake and then back **'the males are naturally stronger. It makes sense.'**

But not necessarily _better_. OK. Aria was going to leave in less than an hour, she wasn't going to introduce gender equality to the ape colony. Though she was interested at how Tinker gave Lake a rather stern look. She had a feeling this topic had been brought up before.

 **'My husband Rocket says you have food and water to pack for your journey - take these. He has already made his preparations. Lake, where is Blue Eyes? Is he ready?'**

The look on Lake's face as it contorted with shock was more than just 'no'. Oh.

 **'He's going?'** she signed simply, the calm before the storm. Even Tinker raised her brow, this wasn't going to end well for Blue Eyes and everyone knew it. Everyone except, perhaps, Blue Eyes. With one more sign from the older ape, Lake was gone. Aria was sort of curious to witness the confrontation, the way apes expressed their all-too-human emotions was still a fascinating spectacle to her, but whereas before she had felt like an observer, having actually _met_ the apes, she felt a little too intrusive.

"Children" Tinker's voice was sweet and wielded a calming effect, though it still sounded alive with amusement. Then she squinted and looked the human over once more.

 **'How old?'** Tinker signed and Aria understood why she'd asked. Her rounded cheeks and wide eyes had always made her look a couple of years younger, and with the current state her body was in, she didn't have much in the way of curves. Though it was still very womanly, nonetheless.

 **'Nineteen'** she signed back.

 **'A new adult.'** Then Tinker's smile turned very sad and Aria felt compelled to look away. One of the heaviest things she'd learned in the short time she'd been with the apes, each one of them seemed to have their own cross to bear. Pain and loss were in wounds in the foundations of their village, and the wounds wouldn't heal.

Deciding to avoid another awkward conversation about humans being evil, Aria collected her saddle bag with a 'thank you' and left. She wanted to discuss the plan with Caesar, if he'd let her, but before she did she really wanted to wash off the scent of him. It wasn't bad, but it would certainly make for an uncomfortable conversation with her travel companions. Where the females bathed was too far to travel so she followed the rushing sound she could hear within the cave until it lead her to a cavern not far from the one she'd been sleeping in. Perhaps she hadn't been calm enough to hear the water before. It called to her now, and she needed to get clean. It fell through a hole in the rocks like a tap and continued in a stream towards where the cave narrowed off. She made quick work of a small fire nearby before stripping off, resting her clothes and bags against the wall of the cavern. The water looked orange in the firelight and she was sure it felt warmer too. Her mind raced with anticipation and curiosity - what was coming next for her? She couldn't go home, at least not yet. She felt like the days had changed her, opened her eyes to the truth, she'd taken the red pill and she couldn't go back fighting a faceless enemy. She would remember their faces now. She'd would remember Caesar's. She would remember their kindness. Was it Stockholm Syndrome that tugged on her heart, singing softly that she didn't want to leave them at all?

* * *

Time had passed quickly that morning, the sun was almost at it's highest point and Caesar had been so busy, he'd barely found the time to say goodbye to his son. He knew it wouldn't be easy, letting him go after everything his tattered family had been through, but it _was_ necessary. Caesar knew that his son was, besides himself, the smartest ape among the colony. Rocket was a skilled fighter and his most loyal warrior, Caesar knew that he'd bring his son back to him at all costs. It wasn't just practicality that made Caesar so eager to send Blue on this particular mission, it was the sheer dread that one of these days it would be Blue's body he'd be posting down stream, just as he had his mother's. He knew now that he couldn't protect him, and though he'd never hurt Blue Eyes with it, he'd proved on number of occasions that his son could not protect himself.

 **'You're leaving and you weren't even going to tell me?!'  
**

 **'I was'**

 **'When?"** Blue was alarmed at the look i her eyes. **'Before I left...'**

She gasped and huffed, waving her hands. **'Oh great, smart Blue Eyes.'** she signed sarcastically, a manner of speaking they'd learned from Stone which seemed to crop up in her and Blue Eyes's interactions a little too frequently. But as his initial shock at her outburst wore off, he saw genuine hurt in her eyes. It bothered him more than he'd like.

He didn't need Rocket's guidance this time because he knew what to say, suddenly the words were blindingly obvious. With no Ash around now to hide behind, he needed to tell her the truth.

 **'I didn't want to say goodbye to you'**

 **'Well thanks a lot Blue after eight years of-'**

 **'No Lake, listen to me, I didn't want to say goodbye...to you'** he emphasised the last word **'Too difficult. Because...it's you.'**

 **'I don't know what you mean'** she lied. He pulled her forehead against his, forcing her gently to make eye contact. Blue Eyes was bad with words but lucky for him, Lake already knew that. She relaxed in his hold.

Caesar sighed as the burning light of midday enroached around his field of vision. He preferred the night, it was quiet usually and far less honest. But he couldn't deny the day now. Saying goodbye had, to his surprise, been simple in the end, he wasn't an ape of many words and the months had wore hard against his ability to convey emotion. He knew that Blue Eyes would probably enjoy the time away from him and guiltily, he too would be stronger for the separation. Although he'd never confess it, Blue Eyes looked far too much like his mother - a fact that had filled him with pride but now, only served pain. A constant reminder of his failure. He didn't want to feel that way about his son. He knew, as well as he knew that he would die, that he loved his children more than anything. He'd love them with his last breath. But the iceberg beneath 'father and son' remained heavy and present. A few moment later left his son with Lake in search for the human.

The women in the quarters all nodded respectfully at him as he passed, though could not tell him where the girl was. Her room was empty and the saddle bags were gone so she'd obviously packed, what would be left for her to do? Although, despite living among humans and their strange rituals for eight years, there was still so much he didn't understand about them, and even less he understood about _her._

When he found her, finally, she was crouched at the back of the cave over her bags with her back to him. Her now plaited hair glistened in the firelight and her skin no longer flecked with the dirt it seemed to accumulate so quickly.

He looked at her strongly for a few seconds and permitted himself to think, for a moment, about their closeness the night before. First, in his long life, he'd seen leadership in humans, he'd seen a father. Then, he'd seen a thirst for power and then destruction. But last night, he saw vulnerability. He no longer saw her as the problem, the human threat he'd let into his home. All he saw was a gentle, compassionate female that was raw with hurt and all his instincts had told him to draw her close, to protect her. She'd sought comfort in him, for a moment she'd trusted him wholly. That's not the type of thing you just forget. It had been so long since anyone had enjoyed his presence that much. Having her fall asleep in his arms had a strange after effect on the ape leader. He felt compelled to her now. This small creature who's well-being he rather wished he didn't care about. He hadn't been cold, but she'd warmed him all the same.

"Oh!" she gasped, her body jerked in surprise and she spun around to face him. Caesar's eyebrows knitted together at the alarm in her eyes as she quickly clutched the piece of material to her chest. Her cheeks seemed to transform to a diluted red. _Had he done something to frighten her before? Or was she hiding something..._

"Um, don't worry" she mumbled quickly, turning around in jittery movement so that he could see only her back again. She appeared to be looking for something in her bag, a little clumsily now with him watching.

"You'll leave now. Follow me to the center of village...horses there waiting." he ordered, his voice tight.

She was still covering her front with the material and it dawned on him that she was embarrassed. He was unsure why but this fact made him feel embarrassed too. Her back was still uncovered and it occurred to him, for the first time, how utterly bare she was, how utterly bare all humans must be to the world. You'd never see so much of an ape's skin, their faces and hands perhaps but those were as rough and weathered as they needed to be. Their softness was hidden under a mass of thick hair. You'd never get to it, even if you wanted to. His thoughtful eyes became curious in their exploration of her form, they dropped to the small of her back as she continued roaming, obliviously, through her bag. For reasons completely unknown to him he felt a strong urge to reach out and graze the skin with his fingertips. He was suddenly desperate to know what it felt like. Was it as soft as it looked? When his father took him to the Redwood for the first time, he'd discovered the fluttering transient forms he later referred to as butterflies. Their universally accepted name didn't make sense at first, but he later discovered, upon capturing one and trying to hold it in his palm, they were sacrificially true to it. He hadn't thought about them for years but he was curious that, if he touched Aria's skin, might she melt too?

He'd never had this desire before, he'd known plenty of female humans in the past. His adoptive mother and neighbors who, despite it feeling like a lifetime away, he knew he'd never wondered about physically. Then Ellie, who he'd been fond of like he was Malcolm, but never had any desire to touch her body, to feel her. What was it about Aria that inspired such interest? He shook his head and glanced away, knowing that she'd never let him find out, knowing that he didn't deserve to.

Or maybe, his instincts told him to do so and yet there was something deep seeded in his brain nagging at him not to - it was the **wrong** thing to do. He did it anyway. He was not in the business of denying himself such curiosity. He was king after all. She gasped as he gently prodded two finger tips against her back, jumping forward before turning around to face him. She looked frightened and he instantly regretted his actions.

"I'm..sorry"

"It's OK." she whispered, looking up at him with doe-like eyes, it stirred warmth in the pit of his stomach. They were close now. She had a patient look in her face, like she'd decided there was nothing wrong with what he'd just done. Like he was a chimpanzee, so maybe his thoughts were pure and experimental. They weren't.

"You wanted to know what it feels like? Human skin?" she asked, her voice sounded timid but then she did something that showed the complete opposite. She reached for his hand, still hovering where her back had been, and pulled it towards her. She let go just before his digits found her skin and turned, exposing her back to him once more. He was speechless.

"Go on. It's OK." but her voice sounded unsure. He _shouldn't._

Caesar understood the meaning of being leader. It was maintaining control, at all times. This would be one of the times since the night of Koba, that he lost it.

He pressed his fingers to the skin between her shoulder blades and then dragged them, methodically, down her back. She shivered at the contact but he didn't notice, he was utterly fixated on the laminar flesh, flowing beneath the contrails of his finger tips. He was sure no natural substance nor man-made cloth had ever come close to being that soft. She didn't feel real, but she didn't melt - he was almost surprised at this. His hands were so rough and calloused - there was such a contrast between them. He liked it, and as that warmth found its way further south of his stomach, with every exploration of new skin, he worried about how much. His motion stilled at the line where skin met her shorts and he curled his fingers away from her. He'd been staring after his touch but she turned her head slightly and his eyes flew up to her face. Though he still looked down at her; she was eye-level with his shoulder. Her mouth was parted slightly and she wore an expression that he did not recognize.

"Did I hurt you?" he managed, his words like an ailment to the throat.

"No." she whispered. He wasn't sure whether it was heat from the fire or his body that expanded around them, locking him in place behind her. He pressed a large palm gently against the curve of her back, spreading it experimentally until he could no longer see the skin there. It wasn't socially uncommon for apes to touch each other here and most places on the back really, he didn't know why it felt so intimate with her. So compelling. He could've sworn for a split second, when his other hand joined, sliding across her hip and she leaned back, she felt it too.

He thought once more about keeping her there, trapping her for his own amusement, like he had those butterflies so many years ago. Then he realized with harsh clarity why she definitely needed to leave.


End file.
